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Sitting

Oblivion

The Heart of
Daoist Meditation

Livia Kohn

Three Pines Press

Three Pines Press
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Distributed in the United States by Three Pines Press.

Cover Art: “Meditating Daoist.” Traditionally attributed to Chen Zhitian (14 th
c.): Fourteen portraits of the Daoist Priest WuQuanjiefrom when he was 43 to 63years
old. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (#46.252). Used by permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kohn, Livia, 1956-

Sitting in oblivion : the heart of Daoist meditation / Livia Kohn.
p. cm.

Includes selections from the Zuowang lun by Sima Chengzhen translated into
English.

Expanded ed. of: Seven steps to the Tao. 1987.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-931483-16-2 (alk. paper)

1. Meditation—Taoism. 2. Taoism—Doctrines. 3. Sima, Chengzhen, 647P-735. .
1. Kohn, Livia, 1956- Seven steps to die Tao. 11. Sima, Chengzhen, 647P-735.
Selections. English. III. Title.

BL1923.K685 2010
299.5'14435—dc22

2010025486

Contents

Acknowledgments

Discussion

Introduction: What is Zuowang ? 1

1. The Classic Core 16

2. Twofold Mystery 33

3. Tang Masters 47

4. Main Texts 59

5. The Integrated System 73

6. Advanced Practices 88

7. The Buddhist Dimension 105

8. Western Appreciation 120

Translation

1. Sitting in Oblivion ( Zuowang lun 137

2. Inscription on Sitting in Oblivion ( Zuowang lun ) 159

3. Stability and Observation ( Dingguan jing 163

4. Refining j2/ ( Cunshen lianqi ming 174

5. Inner Observation ( Neiguanjing 179

6. Heavenly Seclusion (Tianyingi 188

7. The Five Kitchens ( Wuchujing EHflai) 198

8. Mind and Eyes (Xinmu lun /D §Ihi) 207

Bibliography 213

Index 237

Acknowledgments

This book began when my earlier work on the Zuowang lun , Seven Steps to the Dao
(1987), went out of print and the editors at Monumenta Serica , who had pub¬
lished it in their monograph series, generously granted permission to reuse the
materials in a new format. The texts, then, are republished from the earlier
book in the “Translation” part with a few minor changes in terminology and
annotation, but no serious alteration. Three new texts—since then translated
and found relevant—were added into die mix, again with some changes in
format and terminology.

The “Discussion” part of the book is entirely new. 1 have tried to retain the
basic descriptions and references used in the earlier book, but a lot of it was
simply outdated, superseded by research in the past twenty-odd years, or for¬
mulated in ways I would not use today. The book still retains the same focus as
the earlier one: the Zuowang lun by Sima Chengzhen of the eighth century. The
text is both first in the “Translation” section and at the center of “Discussion.”
This part of the work is designed to build up to the central work, beginning
first with a general placement of “sitting in oblivion” in the larger context of
the phenomenology of meditation and Chinese religious history. From here,
two chapters present historical forerunners in pre-Han Daoist materials and the
scholastic vision of Twofold Mystery. The next two chapters present the biog¬
raphies of the main Tang masters and technical information on the texts. After
that, the work places die practice outlines in the Zuowang lun in its Tang context
by looking at the complexities of the integrated meditation system and examin¬
ing advanced practices. The last two chapters, finally, move again away from
the Zuowang lun proper, relating it first to contemporaneous Buddhist concepts
and practices and second to modern scientific explanations and the use of
meditation in healing and stress reduction.

I am deeply grateful to the editors of Monumenta Serica for their kindness both
in helping with the original work and in giving permission to have it reissued in
this manner. I am also deeply indebted to Mario Poceski, Halvor Eifring, and
Michael Saso, for reading through the manuscript and providing comments and
suggestions for improvement. In addition, I benefited from die support of Liu
Ming and Shi Jing, who made materials on modern ^ uowang practice available;
from the help of Harold Roth, Richard J. Smith, Brook Ziporyn, and Jeremy
Zhu in securing relevant resources; from the expertise of Shih-Shan Susan
Huang, who suggested Chen Zhitian’s painting for the cover; and—last but
certainly not least—from the enthusiasm of numerous scholars and practitio¬
ners who never tired of urging me to complete this new exploration of sitting
in oblivion.

Discussion

We are focus-points of consciousness, enormously creative. When we
enter the self-constructed hologrammatic arena we call spacetime, we
begin at once to generate creativity particles, imajons, in violent con¬
tinuous pyrotechnic deluge.

Imajons have no charge of their own but are strongly polarized
through our attitudes and by tire force of our choice and desire into
clouds of conceptons, a family of high-energy particles which may be
positive, negative, or neutral.

Some common positive conceptons are exhilarons, excytons, rbapsodons,
jovions. Common negative conceptons include gloornons, tormentons, tri-
bulons, miserons. . .

Every nanosecond, an uncountable number of concepton clouds
build to critical mass, then transform in quantum bursts to high-
energy probability waves radiating at tachyon speeds through an eter¬
nal reservoir of supersaturated alternate events.

Depending on their charge and nature, these probability waves crys¬
tallize certain of these potential events to match the mental polarity
of their creating consciousness into holographic appearance. The ma¬
terialized events become that mind’s experience, freighted with all the
aspects of physical structure necessary to make them real and learn¬
ingful to the creating consciousness. This autonomic process is the
fountain from which springs every object and event in the theater of
spacetime.

As we fasten our thoughts on positive and life-affirming values, we
polarize masses of positive conceptons, realize beneficial probability
waves, and bring useful alternate events to us that otherwise would
not have appeared to exist.

—Richard Bach, Hypnotising Maria (2009)

Introduction

What is Zuowang?

Zuowang “sitting in oblivion,” signifies a state of deep meditative absorp¬
tion and mystical oneness, during which all sensory and conscious faculties are
overcome and which is the base point for attaining Dao. I translate wang as
“oblivion” and “oblivious” rather than “forgetting” or “forgetful” because die
connotation of “forget” in English is that one should remember but doesn’t do
so, or—if used intentionally—that one actively and intentionally does some¬
thing in the mind. None of these holds true for what ancient and medieval
Daoists were about. This is borne out both by the language and the writings:
the word wang in Chinese consists of the character xin for “mind-heart,” usually
associated with conscious and emotional reactions to reality and the word wang
for “obliterate” or “perish.” The implication is—as indeed described in the
sources—that one lets go of all kinds of intentional and reactive patterns and
comes to rest in oneness with spirit and is ready to merge completely with Dao.

Zuowang first appears in classical texts from before the Common Era, then
forms the title of a key treatise on Daoist meditation in the Tang dynasty (618-
907), and still serves to indicate Daoist contemplative practice today. In all
cases, moreover, the state of mystical oneness is not isolated, but texts and
practitioners describe its surrounding features: which methods to use for attain¬
ing it and what to expect after one has reached it. This, then, makes zuowang the
heart of Daoist meditation.

As a meditation practice, sitting in oblivion shares the same fundamental defini¬
tion as other forms of meditation as a way of resting the mind within to attain
healing, purification, and spiritual transcendence. In its medieval heyday when
its procedures are formulated in most detail, it also matches their basic charac¬
teristics, such as an emphasis on breathing, a basic ethical code, a strong focus
on the mind, and a communal setting for training and practice. Unlike other

Discussion

forms of meditation, however, which make use of certain sense organs (vision,
hearing) or the conscious mind to access the subder layers of the person,
%uowang demands the complete abolition of all sensory perception and con¬
scious evaluation, insisting on “immediacy” in attitude and lifestyle.

Defining Meditation

Meditation can be defined as the inward focus of attention in a state of mind
where ego-related concerns and critical evaluations are suspended in favor of
perceiving a deeper, subtler, and possibly divine flow of consciousness. A
method of communicating with deeper layers of the mind, it allows the sub¬
conscious to surface in memories, images, and thoughts while influencing it
with quietude, openness, and suggestions. 1 Typically, and commonly among its
many different forms, it works with breath awareness, has ethical rules or re¬
quirements, creates social communities, and aims at mental transformation.

Breath awareness forms an essential part of all meditation. It may be a count
that accompanies inhalation and exhalation, a counting of only die exhalation,
the silent repetition of “in-out” as the breath comes in and goes out. Or it may
involve a physical awareness of the feeling of die breath—either at the nostrils
where it enters and leaves, or at the abdomen which rises and falls with it (the
preferred location in Daoism). The practice may also involve a pure awareness
of breath, with no specific counts, vocalizations, or kinesthetic locations. Or it
may be a special effort at lengthening or holding the breath, making it work in
various ways. In all cases, the breath is a bridge between body and mind, as an
expression of mental reality, closely linked to emotions, nervous conditions,
and peace. The more the breath is deepened and calmed, the quieter the mind
becomes and the easier it is to suspend the critical factor and enter into the
serenity of the meditative state.

Ethical rules may be highly detailed regulations or a general encouragement to
cultivate goodwill and compassion. The idea behind “meditation as an ethical
process” (Brazier 1995, 34) is that one cannot connect to the ultimate goals as
envisioned by the tradition—however defined—unless one reaches a certain
level of purity. This purity carries an ethical dimension and is, at least in the
beginning, often expressed as moral rules and precepts. Most common are die
four great moral mles against killing, stealing, lying, and sexual misconduct (see

1 This is the definition used in this book as well as in my earlier work, Meditation Works
(Kohn 2008a). There is no consensus on a definition of meditation applicable to the hetero¬
geneous practices usually called by this name. Scholars and scientists tentatively agree that
meditation in general is a self-induced state that utilizes a clearly defined technique with a
specific anchor of concentration and invokes muscles relaxation as well as the easing of logic
and preconceived assumptions (Cardoso et al. 2004; Ospina et al. 2007, 9). Some also define
it as a “family of self-regulating practices that aim to bring mental processes under voluntary
control through focusing attention and awareness” (Walsh and Shapiro 2006).

What Is Zuowanc ?

Gert 1970), but most traditions—and thus also Daoism—have extensive and
often highly specific precepts and regulations.

The community-building aspect of meditation reflects the fact that is best
taught in direct contact with a master and most efticiendy practiced in groups.
Traditionally organized in monasteries or hermitages, they were located at a
distance from the ordinary world but today also appear in various kinds of cen¬
ters in the cities. Communities tend to be hierarchically organized, with the
master or teacher and his assistants at the center of command and various
kinds of administrators managing the group.

All forms of meditation, moreover, share the dualistic vision that the mind we
carry in our ordinary life is not the pure mind necessary to realize oneself or the
divine. 2 The practice thus sets out to transform the mind from its ordinary ten¬
dencies, which include various emotions and negative feelings, into a purer,
gentler, and more positive agency. A powerful way to achieve this is by de¬
manding a complete focus on the present moment. This appears commonly
but is emphasized with particular strength in %uowang. By being in the present
moment, consciousness becomes clear and lucid, and each and every aspect of
perception stands out vividly while any fixed identity and any limiting sense of
ego are bound to dissolve. This effect is also enhanced by an awareness of
death: death, when accepted fully in the midst of living, can provide a strength,
an impetus, a preciousness to life that is otherwise hard to find.

Meditative practice, then, usually begins with concentration exercises that tend
to involve the breath to allow the conscious mind to rest and thoughts to come
to stillness. Beginners are usually be submerged in a torrent of thoughts that
jump aimlessly from one to the next, ranging from distant memories of the past
to wild expectations of the future. This is what meditators call the “monkey-
mind,” the “mind like a galloping horse,” and what Daoists call “the ordinary
mind.” It is uncontrolled and wild and does not give the person even a mo¬
ment’s rest (Brazier 1995, 54-63).

Using concentration and breath awareness, old patterns soften or are elimi¬
nated. Then new tendencies can be installed—defined in accordance with spe¬
cific traditions and thus vastly different among cultures and religions. Still, even
here certain general tendencies appear: negative emotions are eliminated,
thoughts are changed toward well-meaning patterns, and positive feelings are

2 Tliis concept matches the vision of the perennial philosophy, which holds that there
is an underlying Ground that pervades and supports all being and which gives rise to a pure
level of consciousness or immediate experience that is not accessible with ordinary sense
faculties and the everyday mind. For a description, see Huxley 1946; Happold 1970. By say¬
ing that meditators typically separate the ideal or pure from the ordinary mind, I do not
mean to intend that there in fact is one real universal Ground, but merely that there are
highly similar assumptions of such an underlying entity in all meditation traditions.

Discussion

installed: inner peace, calmness of mind, trust, gratitude, and the like. Eventu¬
ally practitioners reach a state that goes beyond ordinary consciousness but
pervades all levels of the mind—die deep absorption Daoists call ^ uowang.

From here they connect to a wider, greater power, a superconscious way of
being, what Daoists refer to as “attaining Dao.” The mental state at this level
may be called no-mind, wisdom mind, true self, cosmic consciousness, spirit
pervasion, complete cessation, pure experience, true thusness, and so on. It is
understood as part of an ultimate power or reality underlies the universe and
defined differently in each tradition. 3 The usual claim is that, anchored in the
joyous awareness of the infinite and firmly established in wisdom, practitioners
are constantly aware of their true cosmic nature and remain undisturbed by the
polarities of success and failure, pleasure, and pain. At one with a greater power,
they often also attain the ability to communicate with, or travel to, the spirit
realm, becoming citizens of the universe at large.

Classifications

The traditional way of classifying types of meditation follows the Buddhist
model and divides it into concentration and insight (Shapiro 1984, 6): ^uowang
matches neither, although it embraces aspects of both. 4 Concentration is one-
pointedness of mind; it involves complete control of attention and the absorp¬
tion in a single object to the exclusion of all else. The object can be a sound, a
visual diagram, or a concrete object. Beginners in most traditions start with the
breath, observing it with the help of counting either the number or the length
of respirations. The goal is to quiet the conscious mind so that subtler levels of
the mind can come forth.

Insight, on the other hand, is often also called mindfulness. It involves a gen¬
eral openness to all sorts of sensory stimuli and encourages a sense of free-
flowing awareness with detached observation. Insight meditation usually begins
with the recognition of physical sensations and subtle events in the body. It
also means paying attention to reactions to outside stimuli, recognizing but not
evaluating them. Often associated with notions of deeper understanding or
wisdom, it encourages the appreciation of life as flow and lets practitioners see
body and self as unstable, ever-changing energetic entities (see Brown and
Engler 1984).

3 On the cosmic mind and the true self, see Austin 2006, 359-60; Bucke 1961; Moto-
yama 1990;. On the mystical experience, see James 1936; O’Brien 1964; Proudfoot 1985;
Scharfstein 1973; Stace 1987; Underhill 1911.

4 The same fundamental distinction, called “stabilizing” and “analytical” is made in
Dalai Lama 2002, 118-19. It is also found, supplemented by an “integrated” form in the
analysis of meditation by Daniel Goleman (1988).

What Is Zuowanc?

Developing this fundamental division, the Evidence Report of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality proposes a division into five broad categories:
mantra, mindfulness, yoga, taiji quan, and qigong (Ospina et al. 2007, 3). Au¬
thors acknowledge that this classification is problematic, since it merges a
number of different methods into one group such as, for example, hatha and
kundalini forms of yoga or breath awareness and chanting under die heading of
mantra. It also does not allow visualization as a separate category—as much as
the ancient Buddhist system does, which subsumes it under “concentration.”

Approaching the problem from a completely different angle and after examin¬
ing many meditation methods in a comparative, cultural context, 1 have pro¬
posed to classify the various forms according to the venue they use to access
the subconscious mind (Kohn 2008a). Most obvious are three ways that match
the major modes of human perception: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. That is
to say, the meditation forms of visualization, sound immersion (mantra prac¬
tice), and body awareness

Visualization is a key method in tantric Buddhism and medieval Daoism as well
as the essential working tool of hypnosis. It involves focusing die mind on a
specific scene or sequence of events, such as energy flows, deities, cosmic pat¬
terns, saints’ lives, or potential future events. Scenes are either imagined widi
complete detachment or involve the participation of the practitioner—in all
cases opening awareness to subtler levels of consciousness (see Epstein 1989;
Korn and Johnson 1983; Samuels and Samuels 1975).

Mantra practice, which 1 call “sound immersion,” is the vocalized or silent
repetition of a sound, word, or phrase. First documented in ancient Hindu
sources, it appears as scripture recitation in Daoism and forms an important
part of some Mahayana Buddhist schools, such as Pure Land and Nichiren. It
approaches the subconscious through the auditory system, creating vibrations
in the brain that have a calming effect and, especially if used in conjunction
with deity devotion, lead to a sense of selflessness and connection to the divine
(see Gass 1999).

Body awareness, sometimes also called kinesthetic practice, centers on the body
as it is moved or placed into different postures. Although commonly under¬
taken in hatha yoga, daoyin, taiji quan, and qigong, most people think of this
practice more as a form of body cultivation. Yet, while it does have distinct
physical effects, body awareness also has clear meditative purposes. With its
deep focus on the movements both of the physical and the energy body, it can
release emotional issues and lead to meditative oneness (see Hackett 1977;
Kohn 2008b).

Beyond these three fundamental types, three further modes include observation,
body energetics, and immediacy. Each utilizes again a different mode of access¬
ing and modifying the subconscious mind, sometimes but not necessarily in

Discussion

combination with one of the main modes of perception (e.g., awareness of
physical sensations in observation).

More specifically, observation, used in Buddhist insight meditation and Daoist
inner observation, establishes a detached, objective observer or “witness con¬
sciousness’’ in the mind, die “observing self” (Deikman 1982) which is a men¬
tal position of distanced seeing, the faculty of taking a step back from involve¬
ment with experiences and emotions. From this viewpoint adepts identify, ob¬
serve, and cleanse negative emotions while cultivating positive states as defined
by the tradition: compassion, calmness, and joy. They also see the world in¬
creasingly as a succession of changing phenomena and learn to relax into all
kinds of different circumstances (see Goldstein and Kornfield 1987; Rosenberg
1999; Brown and Engler 1984).

Body energetics, next, is a form that appears in Daoist internal alchemy, kun-
dalini yoga, and Western alchemy. The meditative refinement of tangible forms
of body energy (most commonly sexual forces) into spiritual forms, body ener¬
getics activates subtle energetic powers that connect the person to the ultimate.
The method works with an intricate network of subtle energy channels, centers,
and passes that need to be opened and activated and ideally leads to the emer¬
gence of a new spiritual dimension, through which the adept can communicate
and ultimately become one with the divine (see Kohn and Wang 2009).

Zuowang matches the last category, which can be described as immediacy and,
beyond its development in the Zhuang^i and the Daoist tradition, has been
adopted also in Far Eastern Buddhism, notably in Chinese Chan, Japanese Zen,
and Tibetan Dzogchen. Through its practice, adepts eliminate all sensory per¬
ception and the conscious mind as inherently dualistic and potentially mislead¬
ing, avoiding die use of the sensory apparatus in attaining higher states. Practi¬
tioners thus strive to access what they call pure experience or “sitting in obliv¬
ion of everydiing” by letting go of all ordinary perception while strengthening
intuition, the potency of the inborn, natural mind—a pure reflection of original
cosmos in human beings. Posture and body control become essential; all ana¬
lytical, dualistic diinking as well as connection to deities are radically overcome.
In addition, it has its own understanding of the universe, appreciation of the
human role in creation, concepts of mind and body, vision of the ultimate goal,
role and importance of the master, and advanced methodology.

What Is Zuowang?

Early Sources

The oldest documentation of \rnwang as well as the first mention of the term,
appears in the Zhuangsj jtfcyp(Book of Master Zhuang). The classical passage is
part of a dialogue of Confucius JLvP and his disciple Yan Hui U|[!], the latter
reporting that he is “getting better” at attaining Dao. When Confucius asks
what he means, Yan Hui says he has “become oblivious of benevolence and
righteousness,” two essential Confucian virtues that, according to the Daodejing
(Book of the Dao and Its Inherent Potency; ch. 18), 5 form part of the
later unfolding of culture and thus represent a step away from Dao. Confucius
tells him that this is good, but that he has not gone far enough. At their next
meeting Yan Hui says he has left behind “rites and music,” taking aim at the
fundamental Confucian ways of relating to the world, which are similarly de¬
nounced as betraying true humanity in the Daode jing. When Confucius tells Yan
Hui that he still has a ways to go, he leaves, then reports again:

“I’m getting there!”

“How so?”

“I can sit in oblivion!”

Confucius was startled: ‘What do you mean, ‘sit in oblivion’?”

“I let my limbs and physical structure fall away, do away with perception
and intellect, separate myself from body-form and let go of all knowl¬
edge, thus joining Great Pervasion. This is what I mean by ‘sitting in
oblivion’.” (see Watson 1968, 90; Graham 1981, 92; Mair 1994, 64; Roth
1997,310; 2010,198)

Zuowang here is an advanced state of meditative absorption, achieved after more
common features of worldly connection, social rules and formal virtues, are
eliminated. An introverted state and practice, it yet also has an extroverted ef¬
fect when activated in daily life. Thus the Zhuangtj presents various descriptions
of mystical states, visions of ultimate ways of being in the world—free and easy
wandering, utmost happiness—as well as outlines of the ways people of superb
skill and the “perfected of old” live in complete freedom and ease.

For example, “good swimmers . . . are oblivious of the water and its dangers”
(ch. 19); “fish are oblivious of one another in the rivers and lakes” (ch. 6); “the
snow-goose does not bathe every day to make itself white, nor the crow

5 I translate de, usually rendered “virtue” as “inherent potency.” The term expresses
the manifest activity of Dao, the spiritual potential and inherent power of things and people,
the sense of inner truth which is both formless and mysterious as part of Dao but also
unique to the individual as it is activated in the world. Moral goodness (virtue) forms part of
the concept, but it goes beyond that to include the fulfillment of one’s essential inner nature
and heaven-given destiny—which may or may not be moral in the common sense.

Discussion

blacken itself every day to make itself black” (ch. 14). In other words, 3 uowang
in die Zhuang^i, in addition to being an introverted, absorbed state of deep
meditation is also an extroverted way of being in the world that is free from
reflection and intentional action. It is a spontaneous way of living in natural
simplicity that is realized by being at one with Dao, joined with Great Perva¬
sion—it is in fact the fundamental human birth right that is lost through sen¬
sory involvement and conscious categorizations.

As for concrete methods of how to attain this unified state, the Zhuang^i speaks
of “mind fasting” (xin^hai 'L'Hf), which allows practitioners to reduce mental
input and replace ordinary perception with the workings of subtler energies,
such as qi. It also mentions the possibility of being free from emotions and
learning how to avoid conscious classifications by “making all tilings equal.”
However, the Zhuangsg overall remains rather vague as to the exact procedures
of meditation. Its commentaries, notably those by Guo Xiang (d. 310)

and Cheng Xuanying (7* c.), do not give specific practice instructions

either. This is slightly remedied in pre-Han literature by die “Neiye” |A||jt (In¬
ward Training) chapter of the Guan^i (Works of Master Guan; trl. Roth
1999), which outlines concrete instructions leading to a state of “emptiness”
and supported by the Daode jing which emphasizes ways of “embracing one¬
ness” and reaching “clarity and stillness” {qingjing Of jff).

ang Works

The other major documentation on ^■uowang dates from the Tang dynasty, when
masters of the Twofold Mystery (Chongxuan jTjQ and Highest Clarity (Shang-
qing _hOt) schools wrote extensively about it. They centered their presentations
on the same Zhuangsg passage but added more subtle philosophical argumenta¬
tion, vastly more detailed procedures, major Buddhist concepts, as well as vi¬
sions of the otherworld where Dao is manifest in celestial palaces and immor¬
tals. The main source here is the Zuowang lun (On Sitting in Oblivion,

DZ 1036, YQ 94; see Robinet in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 306-07) 6 by the
Sima Chengzhen (647-735). Addressed to a general audience of aris¬

tocratic background, it presents seven steps that lead adepts from ordinary con¬
sciousness through a variety of practices—including Buddhist-inspired concen¬
tration, observation, and absorption—to “attaining Dao,” an ecstatic sense of
freedom that is reminiscent of the Zhuang^i yet also involves the cessation of
karma and ascent to the heavens of the immortals.

6 Texts in the Daoist Canon (DZ) are cited by the numbers in Komjathy 2002; Schip¬
per and Verellen 2004. “YQ” stands for Yunji qiqian , the Daoist encyclopedia of 1019.

What Is Zuowanc?

Two further texts are closely related to the Zuowang lun. One is an inscription of
the same title, dated to the year 829 and placed in front of a temple dedicated
to Sima Chengzhen on Mount Wangwu, his latest residence. It summarizes the
key features of the other text and is probably an early forerunner. A modern
edition has been provided by Wu Shouju (1981), but it is also contained in
Zeng Zao’s Hia DaoshuiMMk (Pivot of the Dao, DZ 1017, 2.7a-8a). 7 The other
is the appendix to the Zuowanglun in its edition in the Daoist canon (DZ 1036,
15b-18a). This is identical with the Dingguan y/wg/tiSIlM (Scripture on Stability
and Observation, DZ 400, YQ 17.6b-13a; see Schipper in Schipper and Verel-
len 2004, 332), an outline of mental transformation in forty-nine verses signed
by the otherwise unknown Lingxuzi I'uHtf'fF'. Also summarized under the title
Guanmiao jing H$il>|M(Scripture on Observation of the Mystery, DZ 326; see
Robinet in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 558), it has been cited in longer or
shorter parts in quite a number of other texts, ranging from die late Tang to
Yuan-dynasty works on internal alchemy. 8

An essential part of this text, moreover, consists of a comprehensive outline of
five phases leading to mental concentration and seven stages of bodily trans¬
formation to immortality. These also appear in the Cunshen lianqi

(Inscription on Visualizing Spirit and Refining Oi, DZ 834, YQ 33.12a-14b;
see Levi in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 375-76), a text closely associated with
Sun Simiao (581-682) of the seventh century. A yet different system of

stages to the Dao appears in the Tianjintj ykilUT 1 (Book of the Master of
Heavenly Seclusion, DZ 1026; Robinet in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 303),
allegedly transmitted by Wu Yun (d. 778) and edited by Sima Chengzhen.
It is more comprehensive than the other texts, beginning with preparatory
measures such as fasting and abstention as well as the establishment of the
meditation chamber. The Tianyin^i has been published many times also in non-
Daoist collections and is still a core work among qigong practitioners today.

Further supplementary materials include first the Neiguan jing (Scripture

of Inner Observation, DZ 641, YQ 17.1a-6b; trl. Kohn 1989b; see Schipper in
Schipper and Verellen 2004, 500), extensively cited by Zhang Wanfu SUiillH in
the early eighth century and thus probably another seventh-century document.
Revealed by Lord Lao, it outlines various ways of observing the internal work-

7 This is a major collection of materials on internal alchemy in 42 juan, dated to around
1151, however, materials tend to be copied erroneously or in fragments. See Boltz 1987,
231-34; Baldrian-Hussein in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 780-81.

8 Unlike in the 1987 book, I render ding here as “stability” to distinguish its Daoist
from its Buddhist in samadhi or samatha\ there is a more physical dimension to the Daoist
practice beyond the mere focus or concentration of mind. I also stick to the rather literal
translation of “observation” for guan, which also can be (and has been) expressed with terms
like “contemplation,” “discernment,” “insight,” and “mindfulness.”

Discussion

ings of body and mind, adding detailed definitions of mental aspects. Next, the
Wuchu jing afJjSflM (Scripture of the Five Kitchens, DZ 763; see Verellen in
Schipper and Verellen 2004, 351-52; Mollier 2000), by Yin Yin ) b['»’f of the
early eighth century adds an advanced cosmological dimensions to tire picture.
Also being transmitted in a Buddhist version, it yet again confirms the close
interrelation between the traditions. Last but not least, Wu Yun’s Xintnu lun ^
1=1 liw (On Mind and Eyes, DZ 1038; see Baldrian-Hussein in Schipper and
Verellen 2004, 308) provides an imaginary dialogue between the eyes and the
mind on who carries more responsibility and has which precise tasks in the
quest for oneness with Dao.

Further Dimensions

“Sitting in oblivion” is much discussed in the classics and in the Tang—but
what about tire early middle ages and the period since the Song? Only very few
passages use the term ^ uowang, but Daoists still strove to attain Dao and entered
deep absorptive states. Looking at the sources, it becomes clear that the em¬
phasis on what it meant to “attain Dao” was different—visualizing deities and
reaching a spirit-like state to communicate with divine beings and travel to the
otherworld in ecstatic excursions in Highest Clarity in the early middle ages;
and transforming internal energies and creating an immortal embryo to ascend
to the celestial realms in internal alchemy ( neidan f^) 3 ]') since the Song. 9 In both
contexts, when the term ^ uowang is used, it indicates a preparatory or secondary
form of practice.

Thus the Sandong ^hunangEL^i I^Ht (A Bag of Pearls from the Three Caverns,
DZ 1139), by Wang Xuanhe (fl. 683), 10 lists many different techniques

and experiences under the heading of “sitting in oblivion and focusing one’s
thinking” jingsi IffS; 5.1a-2a). These techniques are in each case exemplified
by a specific text and personage. Whereas the text links ^uowang with Zhuangsj
passages (chs. 2, 4,6), it describes jingsi as die practice of the first Celestial Mas¬
ter Zhang Daoling JUMIII and claims that it led to his revelation of Dao.

The Sandong tjmiang explains jingsi further by citing Ge Xuan’s JS3C Wuqian wen
jingxu (Essential Explanation of the Text in Five Thousand Words;

lost), presumably of the third century. This states drat dirough focusing one’s
dunking “the manifold wonders will duly come together. Looking inside one’s
body . . . one can cause qi and [inner] deities to live forever” (5.2a). It then ex-

9 On Highest Clarity meditation, see Robinet 1993; Miller 2008. For practices of inter¬
nal alchemy, see Baldrian-Hussein 1984; Kohn and Wang 2009.

10 On the text, see Reiter 1990. For further discussions, see Benn in Pregadio 2008,
832-33; Kohn and Kirkland 2000, 535; Reiter in Schipper and Verellen, 440-41.

What Is Zuowanc?

pands the definition to include visualization of the body gods as prescribed in
the Huangiingjing^^^. (Yellow Court Scripture, in DZ 263 [chs. 55-57], 402-
403, YQ 11-12), one of the classics of Highest Clarity, and further links it with
ecstatic journeys to the stars—moving into the realm of intentional visualiza¬
tions and thus further away from oblivion. In other words, in Highest Clarity as
reflected in the encyclopedia, %uowang was a meditation practice seen largely as a
preparation for a level of mental focus necessary to attain communication with
deities and go on ecstatic excursions.

The Song encyclopedia Yunji qiqian fUj^-triS (Seven Tablets in a Cloudy
Satchel, DZ 1032; dat. 1019; see Boltz in Pregadio 2008, 1203-06; Schipper in
Schipper and Verellen 2004, 943-45) presents a similar perspective. It, too, sees
\uoivang as preparatory, then links it with “transforming the body-self’ (huashen
and provides instructions that also involve physical movements and
breathing:

Every night after bedtime, lie down flat on your back and close your eyes,
then calm your spirit and stabilize your spirit souls, reaching a state of
oblivion ready for creative imagination. Next, exhale deeply two or three
times, then twist quickly to the right and left and raise [and lower] the
hips. Focus your mind on the navel to create a shadow personage three
or four cm tall. Next, let the shadow figure divide into several million
and see them exit from your head. Allow them to penetrate the room
and rise up, moving into the heavens and filling all the dharma worlds,
thinking: “All these are my body-self.” (35.4ab; see also Eskildsen 2007)

Here the main focus is visualization and traveling ecstatically through the
“dharma worlds.” Oblivion is a state that prepares the practitioner for “creative
imagination” and not, as in the Tianjin%i, the culmination of “imagination and
visualization.”

In internal alchemy, too, ^ uowang appears in a supportive function. A system
that integrated previous techniques and specifically used the YijingThM. (Book
of Changes) and alchemical metaphors, it focused on the transformation of
bodily energies with the goal of creating an immortal embryo. Rather than a
central focus, “oblivion” here appears as one form of practice among many,
typically associated with inner observation ( neiguan ft®) and frequently inter¬
preted in Buddhist terms as comparable to wall-gazing ( biguan it®) or sitting in
absorption {juochan -^Ib). 11

11 I render chan as “absorption” because the word originally transliterated the Sanskrit
term dhyana , which means “absorption.” Another meditative %uo practice is “sitting in enclo¬
sure” {guoguan YDffJj, a form of long-term isolation in a sealed structure or cage, which be-

Discussion

For example, the “Discourse on Inner Observation’’ in the Zhong Ui chuandaoji
(Zhongli Quan’s Transmissions of the Dao to Lii Dongbin), 12
describes both %uowang and visualization ( cunxiang ^'.£§) as forms of inner ob¬
servation that lead from a state of elementary wisdom to profound sageliness.

Whether acquiring or rejecting, in all cases remain aware just how much
the mind is like a monkey and the intention like a wild horse: never
stopping, never staying but constantly afraid of pursuing things and los¬
ing them, willing [things] and not hitting the target. Instead, establish
yourself firmly in the mental image [of observation] to find a state where
the ears do not hear and the eyes do not see, the mind is not wild and
the intention is not confused. Seeing affairs and things clearly, you can¬
not fail to practice inner observation and reach complete oblivion.
(16.16ab)

Along similar lines Master Wenyuan cited in the “Collected Essentials”

section of the Daoshu explains that ordinary perception is like living under the
seal of illusion and magic and that, in order to escape from that state, “students
of the Dao must first learn to stop all thoughts and, if ever a thought should
arise, be immediately aware of it” (3.1b). As long as they are “unable to be
completely without thoughts, use the observation of emptiness” (guankong ISjS)
to cleanse the mind; “if not yet able to rest in emptiness, use matching re¬
sponse,” thus moving from immediate response to a sense of emptiness and
eventually to complete freedom from thoughts. This, then is what “Zhuangzi
did when sitting in oblivion and Bodhidharma practiced in wall-gazing; it is
quite beyond the reach of beginning students” (2ab).

came popular in the nineteenth century (see Goossaert 2002). Zuowang was not connnected
to this.

12 The text is contained in the collection Xiu^hen shishu (Ten Works on the

Cultivation of Perfection, DZ 263, chs. 14-16). Another complete version being contained in
the Daoshu, it probably dates from the twelfh century. See Boltz 1987, 139-41; Baldrian Hus¬
sein in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 801; Eskildsen 2009, 88-89.

What Is Zuowanc?

Zuowang Today

Inheriting the tradition, twentieth-century Daoists, as reported by Erwin Rous-
selle who practiced in Peking in the 1920s, often use a combination of concen¬
tration, oblivion, and internal alchemy. RousseU’s instruction began with a con¬
centration exercise that tied all thoughts and conscious activities to the lower
abdominal area, called in traditional literature the cinnabar or elixir field ( dantian
J^EB), in medicine the Ocean of Qi (qibai MiW), and in the modern context
“fixation spot.” 13 The result was called “relaxation” and led to “peace of mind”
in a state of formless absorption (Rousselle 1933, 178). Then “the technique of
meditation is changed” and adepts learn a practice closely resembling internal
alchemy: they bring internal qi into awareness and move it through the body in
different ways, reflecting ancient methods of ^/-guiding as much as observation
or mindfulness practice (1933, 184).

Today Daoists use %uowang to denote a specific form of practice, describing it as
a loss of self and conscious mentation. For example, Liu Xingdi of the Leigu tai
Temple in Shaanxi says:

Ztiorvang is allowing everything to slip from the mind, not dwelling on
thoughts, allowing them to come and go, simply being at rest. It is im¬
portant to take a good posture to still the body and calm the mind. Oth¬
erwise qi disperses, attention wanders, and the natural process is dis¬
turbed. Just remain empty and there is no separation from Dao. Then
wisdom will arise and bring forth light, with is the clear qi of the person.

Do not think too much about the theory of this, otherwise you are sure
to disturb the mind. It is like the sun rising in the east and setting in the
west. To think about stopping it halfway is a futile exercise. Just trust the
inherent natural process. (Shi 2005, 6)

While this sees oblivion more of a state that is natural and not separated from
Dao, reflecting the ancient Zhuang^i, Eva Wong, renowned author and long¬
term practitioner of Complete Perfection (Quanzhen Jj^ftE) Daoism, finds
^uowangvaot& of an actual method, but then also goes back to the ancients:

Zuoivang is a dropping of conceptions. When we drop conceptions, what
we have is the natural emergence of the natural self, the natural celestial
mind, which has been with us all the time. It is only because of our con¬
ceptions that we can’t experience it. So when we practice girnmng, we are

13 Jiang Weiqiao (1872-1955), also known as Master Yinshi, and author of the

Yinsbitfjingquo fa PJ Jfl T JrjPJSyfe (Quiet Sitting with Master Yinshi), was similarly inclined
toward renaming and called it the “center of gravity.” He, too, moved from here into the
circulation of qi in inner alchemical fashion, establishing the microcosmic orbit. See Lu 1964;
Kohn 1993b.

Discussion

simply saying that here is a method where we can begin to drop concep¬
tions. . . .

[For this] there are specific methods of meditation —guowang is one of
them and gagen is another. Then, of course, there is Highest Clarity visu¬
alization, merging with the deities, that’s another form of meditation. But
if we go back and look at originally what is taught in the Lao^i and
Zhuang^i, everything is meditation—walking, sitting, standing—and when
we begin to realize this, then that is true meditation. There is no longer a
distinction between non-meditation and meditation. (Shi 2007, 8).

Actively taught in the West today both by the British Taoist Association (BTA)
under their leader Shi Jing, in Da Yuan Circle (formerly Orthodox Daoism of
America, ODA) guided by Liu Ming, 14 and in the Qigong and Daoist Training
Center by Michael Rinaldini (an initiate of the Longmen lineage of Complete
Perfection), %uowang is a formless, non-conceptual meditation that releases the
hold of the self. As Shi Jing says:

Zuowang is to sit and forget. What we forget is the thing we hold most
dearly: self, with all its opinions, beliefs, and ideals. We can be so caught
up in the concept of self that we only see the world as a place to fulfill
personal ambition and desire. (2006,11; see also Rinaldini 2009, 187)

The practice releases this through just being with the natural process (pgran §
$k), in a mental state that is, according to Shi Jing, characterized by “choiceless
awareness,” a “detached observation” of reality. Both these terms come directly
from Buddhist insight meditation and indicate the creation of a conscious ob¬
server as the agent of detachment and observation. It represents the modern
interpretation of guon’cmg following the increased Buddhist influence already
visible in internal alchemy and not supported in earlier materials, which de¬
scribe the ultimate state in terms of the Zhuang^i as the “falling away of body
and doing away with perception.”

While emphasizing that ^uowang is without special techniques or methods and
means just being in the present, both Shi Jing and Liu Ming provide technical
instruction—just as the Tang texts give details on breathing awareness, mind
control, and proper attitudes.

Shi Jing, in a lecture at the beginning of a \mwang retreat, points out that one
should always “reaffirm one’s intention at the beginning of every meditation

14 The leaders of the BTA were initiated at the Leigu tai in Shaanxi and follow authen¬
tic Chinese teachings. Iiu Ming (formerly Charles Belyea) claimed to have received the
transmission of the Iiu family in Taiwan, but in effect cannot show an authentic Daoist
lineage. Still, his teachings reflect much of what is going on in China and are representative
for American practice. For details on his life and work, see Phillips 2008. Both show a fair
amount of Buddhist influence, BTA more of the vipassana type, ODA more Zen.

What Is Zuowanc?

period,” develop confidence in the practice (rather than enthusiasm which ex¬
hausts the qi) and make sure that the body is aligned and stable (2006, 13)

Liu Ming, moreover, specifies just how to achieve this stable alignment:

—base like a mountain, legs crossed or folded
—back straight but light, stomach empty
—head drawn upward, eyes holding a relaxed gaze
—tongue touching the roof of the mouth to connect the qi channels
—hands resting comfortable in lap

—breath flowing gently and in complete silence (Da Yuan Circle pamphlet)

Just as this is essentially the posture for zazen—with eyes open rather than
closed as the Tang texts note—so die beginning method is essentially Buddhist:
one should create stability of mind by following the breath and counting the
exhalations (see Sekida 1975). From here, Liu Ming notes, one reaches a point
of “embracing the One,” a term borrowed from die Daode jing, which he inter¬
prets to mean being “relaxed” and “calm,” sitting with “that which is naturally
arising.” There should then be no more effort, which is “a hazard to complete
fruition,” but one should naturally come to “returning to the source,” a state
best achieved in complete isolation for one year. As Liu says:

This is liberating our practice from all duality—-it is the end of preciousness.
Formality and informality, of course, blend seamlessly. Fruition is neither
precious nor mundane. Some say this is letting personal practice gain univer¬
sal dimensions, but there has never been a difference between these two. . . .
It is also called “the body of light.” In death we do not survive or become ex¬
tinct. Submerged in the Nameless Dao, there is no death and no birth; there
is neither here nor there.

This moves even the ultimate goal into a Buddhist sphere, replacing immortal¬
ity with the complete cessation of birth and death, here and there {nirvana),
while also using Western alchemical terminology, “the body of light” to explain
the new dimension.

To sum up, %uowang has meant a number of different tilings in the course of
Chinese history. While both Chinese and Western Daoists still actively pursue
its practice today, it has once again undergone quite a few transformations,
retaining traces of the state outlined in the Zhuangtj, using various methods
described in the middle ages, and evolving into the complex system of the Tang.
Leading masters, and certainly those cited here, work with the traditional model
and are familiar with the classical texts, using the Zuowang lun to inspire students
and encouraging them with citations from the Dingguan jing. Yet they do not
hesitate to put their own, new visions and practice methods on the old materi¬
als, thus keeping the tradition alive through change.

Chapter One

The Classic Core

The earliest description of sitting in oblivion, and first occurrence of the term
3 uowang, is in the ancient Daoist classic Zhuang^, a composite work of thirty-
three chapters that was compiled around 250 B.C.E. It contains the teachings of
various early Daoist schools, such as the primitivists who wished to abolish all
government and culture; the hedonists who found perfection in fulfilling all
whims and pleasures; and the syncretists who combined classical Daoist
thought with yin-yang cosmology and Yijing speculation (see Graham 1980). 1 A
large portion of the text, most prominently the first seven or “inner” chapters,
represent the thought of Master Zhuang himself. Originally called Zhuang
Zhou fttjuj, he was of lower aristocratic background, highly erudite, and a mi¬
nor government servant. He worked for a local southern Chinese state, then
withdrew to dedicate himself to his speculations, teaching Iris ideas to disciples
and inspiring them to commit them to writing.

Especially chapters 6 and 19 contain passages that describe not only tire state of
oblivion, but also the stages leading to it and the ultimate personality character¬
istics achieved. Although vague and couched in rather obscure language and
fictional presentations—tire Zhuangsg is also considered the first book of tradi¬
tional Chinese fiction—die descriptions provide a first glimpse of what was so
inspiring about this state and its related methods. Explained by die text’s main
editor and commentator Guo Xiang, diey show a vision of the ultimate over¬
coming of consciousness and identity, in favor of the functioning of the pure
mind or spirit dirough person, leading to an ecstatic state called wandering,
roaming, or utmost happiness and associated widi an active consecutive di-

x The main translations used in this study are Watson 1968; Mair 1994; Graham 1981;
and Ziporyn 2009. For an overview of both full and partial translations, see Wilhelm 2010.

The Classic Core

vestment of outer strive and inner tension, not unlike the purifications under¬
gone by officiants in preparation for ancestral rituals.

Similar outlines of meditative states and related methods also appear in two
further Daoist classics that are dated slightly earlier than the Zhuangsg. the Daode
jing and die “Inward Training” chapter of the Guan^i. While the former empha¬
sizes the reduction of desires and sensory input in favor of a connection with
Dao, the wondrous and the mysterious, the latter has detailed practice instruc¬
tions and focuses on the guiding of qi to benefit body and mind. Together the
three ancient texts provide a basic, if ultimately sketchy, outline of what medita¬
tion in pre-Han proto-Daoist circles was like, lending themselves time and
again as sources and inspiration and continuing to influence die unfolding of
%uowang in later ages.

Sitting in Oblivion

“1 let my limbs and physical structure fall away, do away with perception and
intellect, separate myself from body-form and let go of all knowledge, thus
joining Great Pervasion. This is what 1 mean by ‘sitting in oblivion’.” So runs
the classic passage in Zhuang^i 6. Also explained with the phrase “making one’s
body like dried wood and one’s mind like dead ashes” (chs. 2, 22), it describes a
state where all visceral awareness of emotions and desires is lost and all sense
perception is cut off. Completely free from dualistic thinking or bodily self-
consciousness, it represents a state of no-mind where there are no boundaries
between tilings and where the person as person has “lost himself,” as the sage
says (ch. 2; Watson 1968, 36; Santee 2008, 111-13). It matches the highest level
of the meditative stages as found in pre-Han sources, usually described as
“emptiness” (Roth 1997, 306).

A better understanding of what it entails is offered by Guo Xiang’s commen¬
tary as recorded in the Nanhua \'henjing %lmshu ®it (Commentary and

Subcommentary to the Perfect Scripture of Southern Florescence, DZ 745; see
Robinet in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 294-96):

Sitting in oblivion—what could one not be oblivious of? First one aban¬
dons outward manifestations, then one becomes oblivious of that which
causes these manifestations. On the inside one is unaware that there is a
body-self; on the outside one never knows there are Heaven and Earth.

Only thus can one become fully vacant and unify with the changes, and
there will be nothing that is not pervaded. (7.39b; Kohn 1987a, 41;
Robinet 1983a, 92)

Emphasizing the totality of oblivion, Guo Xiang describes it as occurring in
two levels or stages, moving from manifest tilings, literally die “traces” (ji 1®),

Discussion

to that which left the traces (suoyiji the cause behind all existence, the

underlying patterns that shape the world. The concept goes back to the
Zhuangsj, which like the Daode jing (ch. 27) variously describes the perfected as
being free from all kinds of tracks or traces, at one with the flow of Dao and
the community of life (chs. 7, 11). Later applied in Chinese Buddhist thinking,
the “traces” come to indicate the visible result of an action that is not the same
as the original intention or feeling which caused it.

Guo Xiang also connects the underlying cause with Heaven and Earth, the
movers of the cosmic patterns. He sees the resulting effect, the traces of their
movements, in the individual’s body-self (shen ), the personal body and con¬
scious identity, the familial and social personhood located within one’s physical
frame, the site of the personality constructed through self-cultivation, education,
and social status (Sommer 2010, 216). This is quite distinct, already in the
Zhuangej and even more so in later Daoist literature, from the body-form (xing
jfj), the physical body which the Zhuangtj claims one is separated from in the
state of oblivion: the discrete, visible shape that toils and needs to be fed, can
be mutilated or made whole (2010, 218-19).

For Zhuangzi, in this passage the body-self is already obliterated in the two
stages preceding the actual sitting in oblivion, when Yan Hui reports to Confu¬
cius—in his role as right-thinking student (Littlejohn 2010, 184)—that he is
getting there: first he manages to become oblivious of benevolence and right¬
eousness, next he abandons rites and music. These four are central virtues in
the Confucian system that keep society together but, according to die Daode jing
(ch. 18), signal the loss of Dao since they formalize something that should
come naturally to people. Each time Confucius encourages him but notes that
it is not good enough, that he still has a way to go. Guo Xiang explains:

Benevolence is the trace of unbiased love. Righteousness is the effect of
completing things. Love is not benevolence, but the trace of its activa¬
tion. Completing things is not righteousness, but the effect of its mani¬
festation. Maintaining benevolence and righteousness is not enough to
understand the source of love and benefit, which is no-mind. Thus they
must be abandoned. But this is merely the oblivion of the traces and ef¬
fects, not penetration of the mystery. (8.38a; see Ziporyn 2009, 204)

Following this, he comments that rites are the outward functioning of the
body-form, while music is die instrument of enjoying life; he again stresses that
these are just traces and not the real thing (8.38b), which comes only when eve¬
rything is let go completely and identity is dissolved fully in Dao, the mystery,
the Great Pervasion. Still, the passage bodi clarifies the ultimate state to be at¬
tained and indicates die process of attainment, a step-by-step removal from
outward traces and focus on the ultimate patterns and inner workings of the

cosmos.

The Classic Core

A related passage outlines a series of practices that lead to a state of complete
oblivion where “nothing is unforgotten,” describing the state as the Dao of
Heaven and Earth:

Finding loftiness without controlling intention, cultivating the self with¬
out benevolence and righteousness, ordering one’s life without pursuing
merit and fame, relaxing without retiring to rivers and oceans, living long
without practicing healing exercises—nothing unforgotten, nothing not
possessed: one rests serenely in the non-ultimate and the host of beauti¬
ful things naturally follows along. Such is the Dao of Heaven and Earth,
the inherent potency [virtue, de\ of the sage. (ch. 15; Mair 1994, 145;
Watson 1986,168)

Here the pursuit of loftiness (gao tHj), self-cultivation ( xiu fits), an ordered life
{%hi '/n), relaxation or leisure ( xian pH), and extended longevity ( shou |pj) are all
part of the process of reorganizing oneself along the lines of oblivion—yet
without engaging in any of the virtues and practices commonly associated with
these activities. As a result, one will rest calmly in the state before creation, die
non-ultimate ( wuji and have nothing to worry about as tilings develop

perfectly of themselves.

In addition, the passage characterizes the mental state with a series of terms
that continue to appear in the later tradition: quietude ( tian '[)§), calmness {tan
$<), serenity (ji{ Jty), and indifference {mo ; $£) as well as “emptiness and nonbe¬
ing” {xun’u Hfffe) and “nonaction” (wumi fefH). It emphasizes that “these
maintain the balance of Heaven and Earth, are the manifestation of Dao and
inherent potency,” thus connecting the individual to the greater powers and
deeper levels of the cosmos.

dhaos

A powerful early metaphor for the state of complete oblivion that is also used
in later literature appears in the figure of Hundun “Chaos,” a cosmic be¬
ing at the root of creation who does not have any senses. The Zhuang^i has the
following story:

The ruler over the southern sea was Shu [Tight]. The ruler over the
northern sea was Hu [Abrupt]. The mler over the center was Hundun
[Chaos]. On occasion Shu and Hu would meet in the realm of Hundun
who received them with great hospitality. The two then started to plan
how they could possibly pay back Hundun’s kindness. They said: “All
people have seven orifices so they can see, hear, eat, and breathe. He
alone has none of them. Let us try boring him some.” So they bored a

Discussion

hole every day, and on the seventh day Hundun died. (ch. 7; see Girardot
2009, 64).

Hundun is thus a cosmic entity before and beyond sensory perception and as
such an image of die ideal state of oneness with Dao. Chapter 12, in addition,
describes someone versed in the “arts of Mr. Hundun” as “ a person who un¬
derstands returning to simplicity and in nonaction has reached the uncarved
state \pu ^f']. He fully embodies his essential nature and embraces the spirit,
wandering freely in the midst of the world” (Girardot 2009, 79).

Nonaction, moreover, the essential attitude of someone in a state of oblivion, is
described in images connected to the chaos theme:

Nonaction in Heaven is purity; on Earth it is peace—

The two combine and all things transform.

Vast and vague, chaotic and obscure: they emerge from nowhere.

Vast and vague, nebulous and hazy: they have no sign.

(ch. 18; Watson 1968,191; Mair 1994, 168; Girardot 2009, 84)

A clear relationship of sitting in oblivion with Hundun, moreover, appears in a
speech by Vast Concealment (Hongmeng $§H§) in chapter 11. Hongmeng is a
figure connected with the Hundun mythology —hongmeng hongdong
being another expression describing die creation time (Girardot 2009, 48)—but
he is here presented as a master who gives instruction in the art of returning to
the beginning. Like Hundun in the Shanhaijing fLflSIS (Book of Mountains and
Seas), he is shamanically “slapping his thighs” and “hopping and dancing like a
bird,” a technique of “aimless wandering” (fujou WdW) and “madness” ( chang-
kuang JIIJE)—the latter also characterizing the unified mind in Zhuanggi 4 and 7
(Girardot 2009, 88).

In his speech, he addresses Cloud Chief (Yunjiang JjfJff), explaining methods
of “mind nourishing” (xinyang ^L'H). He uses similar phrases as die classic pas¬
sage on sitting in oblivion and links the oblivious mind with chaos:

Just take the position of nonaction and all things unfold naturally. Let
your body and limbs fall away, expel perception and intellect, leave rela¬
tions and things behind in oblivion. Become mystically one with the im¬
mense and boundless, release your mind and free your spirit.

Be silent and without an active spirit soul [that interacts with the world],
and the ten thousand things will each return to their root. Each return to
their root and rest in unknowing—dark, obscure, chaotic: they remain
like this for the rest of their days.

The Classic Core

However, the moment you try to know this state, you have already ef¬
fected a separation from it. Don’t ask its name, don’t measure its founda¬
tion—it’s the spontaneous life of each being, (ch. 11; Mair 1994, 99;
Watson 1968,122

This is further explained in the passage immediately following the Hongmeng
story (Watson 1968, 123-24). Here, in contrast to the “common man” who in
valuing face “welcomes those who are like him and scorns those who differ
from him,” the Daoist’s “face and form have blended with Great Unity.” He
sees only “nonbeing” and, like Emperor Hundun, stands alone at the center as
“the true friend of Heaven and Earth” (Girardot 2009, 88).

The state of chaos and nonbeing as the ultimate state of Daoist cultivation is
also the end point of a reversal of the stages of decline which humanity went
through historically from the golden age to the present—interpreted also psy¬
chologically as the fall from childhood innocence to adult self-consciousness.

The Zhuang^ihas:

The knowledge of the people in antiquity was perfect. How was this so?
They didn’t even begin to perceive that things existed—thus it was per¬
fect. It was complete. Nothing could be added to this! Next they thought
that things existed but did not recognize any distinctions. After that, they
saw distinctions but did not recognize right and wrong. The emergence
of right and wrong was the destruction of Dao. (ch. 2; see Watson 1968,

41; Graham 1981, 54; Mair 1994,17)

Guo Xiang names these four stages and explains them in terms of oblivion,
making it clear that he sees the attainment of \mwang as an intrapersonal recov¬
ery of a cosmic state lost in human development. The first stage of original
oneness he calls “Chaos Complete” (,hunching Wkf$£) and says;

This means being oblivious of Heaven and Earth, doing away with be¬
ings. On the outside not examining time and space, on the inside never
conscious of one’s body-self. Thus one can be boundless and unattached,
going along with beings and fully according with all. (3.1b)

The next stage of beings (wu $J) means that oblivion is “no longer complete,”
but it is still free from distinctions (feng which make up the third level of
decline. The final stage is the perception of right and wrong (shifei jj§§g^)—a
central pair in the Zhuangt^i and the core of its analysis of conceptual fallacies
and exposition of relativism (see Hansen 2010; Roth 2010; see also Kjellberg
and Ivanhoe 1996). This is the destruction of Dao, when “emotions begin to be
partial and love develops fully” (3.2b; Knaul 1985a, 25). It is from this alienated
and unpleasant level that practitioners return to full oblivion, their birthright
and the best way of living in the world.

Discussion

Another recovery of primordial oblivion, a gradated progress toward mystical
attainment, is outlined in a passage that describes Buliang Yi’ h progress
under the guidance of Niiyu yStyflf (Woman Hunchback):

After three days, he was able to put the world outside himself Once he
could do this, I continued my support and after seven days, he was able
to put beings outside himself. Once he could do this, I continued my
support, and after nine days, he was able to put life outside himself.
Once he could do this, he achieved the brightness of dawn, and after this,
he could see his own aloneness. After he had managed to see his own
aloneness, he could do away with past and present, and after that, he was
able to enter [a state of] no life and no death (ch. 6; see Watson 1968, 83;
Graham 1981, 87; Mair 1994, 57).

This outlines die progress to complete oblivion and oneness with Dao in seven
steps: the adept puts the world (1), beings (2), and life (3) outside himself—an
activity interpreted by Guo Xiang as becoming “oblivious” (8.3a). From here
he goes on to attain the brightness of dawn (4) and the ability to see his own
aloneness (5). That is to say, he finds an inner clarity or radiance, possibly like
the bright light within that in many meditation traditions signals die opening to
pure consciousness. In “aloneness,” moreover, he attains a state of nonduality
which, according to Guo Xiang, means being free from all feelings about death.
“Not hating death,” he says, “means that one can be at peace with whatever
one encounters; one is vast and open and without obstruction, seeing the cos¬
mic pivot and acting with it” (8.3b). “Seeing one’s aloneness” in his terms thus
means “letting go of whatever one comes in contact widi” (8.4a).

From here Buliang Yi abandons past and present (6) and finally enters a state
completely beyond life and death (7), interpreted by Guo Xiang as “giving up
all attachment to life and death” (8.4a), going beyond time and all existence and
reaching oneness with Dao.

The Ideal State

What, dien, is it like to be in a state of chaotic oblivion? The Zhuang^i uses the
metaphor of drunkenness to describe it:

When a drunken man falls from a carriage, though the carriage may be
going very fast, he won’t be killed. He has bones and joints the same as
other men, but he is not injured as they would be, because his spirit is
whole. He didn’t know he was riding, and he doesn’t know he has fallen
out. Life and death, alarm and terror do not enter his breast, (ch. 19;
Watson 1968,198-99; Graham 1981,137; Mair 1994,176)

The Classic Core

Here oblivion is a state of complete unknowing, an utter lack of awareness of
where one is or what one does. There are no thoughts of disaster or alarm, or
even of life and death, that might come into the mind. This, in turn, creates a
safety net, preventing any kind of injury to die person. The spirit being whole,
so is the person.

The Uet^i ^[J j- (Book of Master Lie, DZ 668), lost in antiquity then reconsti¬
tuted in the early centuries C.E. (see Graham 1961), which recounts many sto¬
ries also told in the Zhuang^i, gives a more concrete example. It tells the story of
Master Hua ap'-jf from the state of Song who was in oblivion to the point that
he could no longer quite function in daily life:

He would receive a present in the morning and forget it by evening, give
a present in the evening and forget it by morning. On the road, he would
forget to walk; in the house he would forget to sit down. Today he
would not remember yesterday; tomorrow he would not remember to¬
day. (Graham 1960, 70)

This case of ancient Chinese Alzheimer’s was naturally quite upsetting to Iris
family who consulted various specialists, all to no avail, until a Confucian of Lu
came and offered to do an early version of psychotherapy: “He tried stripping
Hua, and he looked for clothes. He tried starving him, and he looked for food.
He tried shutting him up in the dark, and he looked for light.” Encouraged by
these signs that there was a survival instinct still at work, the Confucian asked
to be left alone with Hua and, literally overnight, jerked him out of his oblivi¬
ous state—to the latter’s great regret:

Formerly, when I was in oblivion, I was boundless. I did not notice
whether Heaven and Earth existed or not. Now suddenly I remember: all
the disasters and recoveries, gains and losses, joys and sorrows, loves and
hates of twenty or thirty years rise up in a thousand tangled threads. . . .

Shall I never again find a moment of oblivion? (Graham 1960, 71)

In other words, the ideal state of oblivion creates a sense of inner peace and
openness, a freedom from emotions and evaluations, success and failure, and
any sort of strife. It is a state of inner wholeness where one flows along with
Dao and just is—without memories or expectations, free from urges, pushes,
or endeavors. Yet to maintain it one must be completely beyond any form of
survival instincts: looking for light, food, and clothes when deprived of them is
an indication that “perception and intellect” have not been “driven out com¬
pletely.”

Another way of describing this state is in terms of naturalness (%iran |=[$k), a
term also translated as “spontaneity” or “immediacy.” People are naturally and
spontaneously at home in Dao as fish are in water (ch. 6). This feeling of being

Discussion

completely at home, in one’s natural element, is further clarified with the meta¬
phor of “perfect alignment” (shi M) or comfort:

One is oblivious of the feet when the shoes are comfortable; one is

oblivious of the waist when the belt fits perfectly. Knowledge obliterates

all right and wrong when the mind is in perfect alignment with all. (ch.

19; Watson 1968, 206-07; Mair 1994,184)

This means oblivion is a state where one is naturally at home in the greater uni¬
verse, as comfortable in one’s mind and spirit as one is in clothes that fit well.
Since the match is perfect, there is no need to evaluate it or develop feelings
about anything. Since one is the only way one could be as determined by Dao,
there is no urgency to change or develop regrets about not changing.

In terms of actual living experience, the Zhuangtg describes the “perfected of
old” who “slept without dreaming and woke without worrying, ate without
savoring and breathed deep inside. . . ; they knew nothing of loving life and
hating death, came into the world without delight and left it without making a
fuss” (ch. 6; Watson 1968, 78; Graham 1981, 84). In a state of oblivion, they
were not interested in profit and loss, fame and gain, but “went along with
what is right for tilings.” Following in this line, the text emphasizes that those
in harmony with Dao would naturally not encounter anything untoward and
remained completely at peace when faced with death or disease, always accept¬
ing the changes and going along with the flow of life.

One example is Master Sang who has fallen into a state of poverty and reflects
on why this should be so: “My father and mother surely wouldn’t wish this
poverty on me. Heaven covers all without partiality; Earth bears up all without
bent: they surely would not single me out to become poor!” (ch. 6; Watson 1968,
91; Graham 1981, 93; Mair 1994, 64). The conclusion he reaches is that it must
be “destiny” ( ming ftp), the life he is commanded {ming) to have by Heaven,
something that is beyond human control and cannot be changed. By die same
token, the Zhuang^i emphasizes that “there is no true master” of body and mind:
we have no real possession of our bodies, which go on to change as they do,
following cosmic laws far beyond the human sphere (ch. 2).

This means that, as Guo Xiang says, “we must understand that filings are what
they are spontaneously” and transform of themselves (Knaul 1985a, 19). The
attitude to develop, according to him, is one of fluid adjustment—best
achieved with little or no conscious evaluation. He uses a wide variety of terms
for this, ranging from “align with” (r/;/M) through “correspond to” ( dang iK),
“adapt to” tying JjJj), “comply with” (fu -ftyf), “rely on” {yin H), “avail oneself of’

(dai f)y), “go along with” {shun Jiff), “let go” {ren (dr), “follow” {cheng ffi), and
“obey” {%hi (efc), to “be content with” {an ) and “resign oneself to” ( tuo g-£)
(Knaul 1985a, 23; 1985b, 439). This large selection shows just how important

The Classic Core

adjustment to cosmic patterns and letting go of personal goals and strife is in
this vision, and how hard the attainment of complete oblivion. If fully attained,
however, it means an ecstatic freedom both from and within the world, a way
of being which the Zhuang^i describes as “free and easy wandering” (xiaoyaoyou
or “utmost happiness” {ghile ms and which Guo Xiang calls “spon¬
taneous attainment” (pjS § ?=§>).

A more poetic formulation of the same idea appears in Ruan Ji’s UrtH) (210-263)
Daren xiansheng %huan i\ A 4)34^18 (Biography of Master Great Man), speaking
as one who has reached the ecstatic freedom of oneness with Dao:

Heat and cold don’t harm me; nothing stirs me up.

Sadness and worry have no hold on me; pure energy at rest.

I float on mist, leap into heaven, pass through all with no restraint.

To and fro, subtle and wondrous, the way never slants.

My delights and happiness not of this world—

How would I ever fight with it? (Holzman 1976, 202)

Mind Fasting

As regards specific practices that lead to the attainment of oblivion, the
Zhuangt^i describes a practice call “mind fasting” ( xin^pai D'SHf). Again, Confu¬
cius is talking to Yan Hui, but here he is the teacher who advises:

Unify your will and don’t listen with your ears but listen with your mind.

No, don’t listen with your mind, but listen with your qi. Listening stops
with the ears, the mind stops with matching [perception], but qi is empty
and waits on all things. Dao gathers in emptiness alone. Emptiness is the
fasting of the mind. 2 (ch. 4; Watson 1968, 57; Graham 1981, 68; Mair
1994, 32)

To reach the inner emptiness of Dao, one thus begins with an act of will, turns
one’s attention inward, and withdraws the senses, using instead the mind, the
flow of consciousness, to relate to tilings. Then one gives that up, too, and
moves on to working with pure qi, the cosmic energy and material aspect of
Dao that is impartial and open. In this contentless, non-conceptual meditation,
both senses and mind are overcome—the former serving as the root of the
emotions or “passions and desires,” the latter creating mental classifications

2 The word for “emptiness” used here is xum, which usually describes a state of mind
or inner sense of openness, an integral aspect of Dao. It is distinctly different from empti¬
ness as a more abstract concept in the sense of the underlying nature of the world, which in
Buddhism—and from there also in medieval Daoism—is expressed with the term kong 3?. I
supplement characters when needed to mark this distinction.

Discussion

such as “right and wrong.” The state to be achieved is one of emptiness and
no-mind, characterized by tire complete absence of conscious evaluation and an
utter lack of feelings (Santee 2008, 114-15). As the Zhuangsy says: “Dao gave
him a human face and Heaven gave him a human body, yet he does not let
[feelings of] likes and dislikes enter and harm himself’ (ch. 5). Instead, the per¬
fected preserves his essence (/ingWi), attains long life, and finds a peace of mind
that matches Heaven and Earth.

The mind in this context appears in two forms: as the ordinary, evaluative mind
which matches perception; and as the purified mind of qi which goes along
with all. The Zhuangtg discusses these types of mind variously, calling the ordi¬
nary mind by different names, such as “human mind” (renxin X'L'), “mechani¬
cal mind” {jixin JUT'), and “the mind of life” (sheng %hi xin (fe^L'). This kind
of mind is very limited in its reach and tends to keep people in a state of delu¬
sion (Tang 1966, 101). It is the mind which harbors all the dangers on the way
toward Dao; it has to be subdued, controlled, and tamed, and eventually made
into no-mind (Fukunaga 1969, 9; Jan 1981, 467).

From this average impure mind, then, another type of mind arises: as the
Guan^i says, “Within the mind there is yet another mind” (13.11b). Zhuangcg 2
calls this “Heaven’s storehouse—one fills it, yet it is never full; one drains it, yet
it is never empty” (Watson, 1968, 45). Like die ocean, like Dao, like pure spirit,
this mind never dies, it is called “one-with-Heaven” (ch. 15) and die “spirit
tower.” Being one with this mind gives people magical powers, “fire can’t burn
him, water can’t drown him, beasts can’t injure him” (ch. 17; Watson 1968,
182). A person of this mind can see in the dark, he can hear the inaudible, and
discover the spirit widiin. This realized mind is given to everyone, the Zhuangsg
asserts, and if everyone made it his teacher, then “who would be without a
teacher?” (ch. 2).

Anodier way of distinguishing the two kinds of mind is by language. Words
referring to ordinary mentation in the Zhuang^i tend to be written with the
“heart” radical, while those expressing die workings of the perfect mind use
that meaning “water.” Thus all the various emotions, whether fear (ju 'Iff), anger
(nu $5), joy (xi |K), even love (ai ft) are expressions of “heart-mind” as much
as the word for feeling or emotion itself (qing fpf).

The calm mind of Dao, in contrast, is clear (qing fjf) and pure (chun |p), deep
(shen and pervasive (chong 'Kf 1 ), bottomless like the abyss (yuan $§|) and trans¬
lucent like “water that stops waving and becomes clear all the way [%han ')H]”
(Ching 1983, 238). The locus classicus in the Zhuang^i is a story where the Gourd
Master lets himself be analyzed by a physiognomist shaman and shows him
different aspects of the perfected mind, including death-like patterns of earth
and three variations of the abyss (ch. 7; Watson 1968, 96; Graham 1981, 97;

The Classic Core

Saso 2010, 149-50). This, he says, “has nine names,” which are supplied in the
Ue^i and show the intensity of the water imagery:

Whirlpools, still waters, currents, water bubbling up from the ground,
water dripping from above, water slanting from the side, water dammed
and turned back, water draining away in a marsh, several streams coming
from one source, and the all hollowed-out abyss, (ch. 2; Graham 1960,

51)

Each of these, then, stands for a particular state of the primordial mind, the
pure mystical spirit: from the water that has not yet emerged from die source,
dirough the vastness of the primeval ocean, the beginning stages of Heaven
and Eardi widiout name or substance, to the pattern of Eardi which is “still
and silent, nodiing moving, nodiing standing up.” In addition, water also ex¬
presses the activities of the pure mind in real life: it moves by running, gurgling,
springing, and whirling, and may be defiled tiirough the senses to become con¬
fused, muddled, turbid, and agitated. Anodier metaphor that is closely related
to the water imagery is the mirror—often also expressed in the notion of the
water mirror—which can be bright and shining or dull and obscured. 3

Progress in mind fasting thus works backward from the ordinary heart-based
mind through turbidity and agitation of the pure mind to its original form,
eventually reaching its source in the abyss that is as deep and open as Dao itself.
It is a process of stilling, calming, and purifying, which leads to a state of clarity
and stillness, typically linked with intermediate stages of meditation in the early
sources (Roth 1997, 306) and often associated with more enstatic states,
reached through sensory withdrawal and a single-minded focus on the deep
underlying root or source of the cosmos (see Eliade 1958).

Sensory Withdrawal

Fasting and the attainment of clarity and stillness are outlined in even more
concrete terms in the story of Woodworker Qing. Charged with the task of
making a bell stand, he starts by fasting:

I always fast in order to quiet my mind. When I have fasted for three
days, I no longer have any thought of congratulations or rewards, of ti¬
tles or stipends. When I have fasted for five days, I no longer have any
thought of praise or blame, of skill or clumsiness.

3 On the notion of mind as mirror, especially also in the Zhuang^i, see Ching 1983;
Cline 2010; Demieville 1987; Lai 1979; Oshima 2010.

Discussion

When I have fasted for seven days, I am so still that I forget I have four
limbs and a body-form or structure. By that time, the ruler and his court
no longer exist for me. My skill is concentrated and all outside distrac¬
tions fade away. (ch. 19; Watson 1968, 205; Graham 1981, 135; Mair
1994,182)

Forgetting body form and structure, being completely oblivious of ruler, court,
and audience, the woodworker brings oblivion into practical life and also dem¬
onstrates how fasting—physical and mental—is key to its attainment.

This process of fasting, moreover, is very much like the purification undertaken
as preparation for ancestral and other rituals in Confucian circles (Sommer
2002, 99). Also called %hai, it could similarly last from one to seven days and
involved abstention from all or specific foods as well as intoxicating substances,
plus the avoidance of contact with blood and dirt, sexual abstinence, taking
baths in fragrant waters, and withdrawal to solitude to concentrate the mind—
all techniques also used in meditation (Roth 1997, 306). As the Uishi chunqiu S
(Mr. Lii’s Spring and Autumn Annals, 3 rd c. B.C.E.) describes it:

A gentleman fasts and observes vigils, makes sure to stay deep inside his
house, and keeps his body utterly still. He refrains from music and sex,
eschews associations with his wife, maintains a sparse diet, and avoids
the use of piquant condiments. He settles his mind’s qi, maintains quie¬
tude in his organs, and engages in no rash undertaking. (5.42; Knoblock
and Riegel 2000, 135; Lo 2005,166)

The practice here, just as the technique reported by Woodworker Qing, en¬
tailed a reversal of ordinary states of perception by removal from the sensory
world combined with a cognitive exercise of concentration and opening to the
otherworld—the world of emptiness and Dao in the Zhuang^i, the world of the
ancestors in Confucian ritual. In the latter, as outlined in the Uji fUgE (Book of
Rites) the sacriticer thought “about the deceased and remembered what they
looked like, how they sighed and how they laughed;” he recalled those things
that pleased the departed and became very involved in their emotional life
(Sommer 2002, 99; 2003, 212). Occlusion, sensory deprivation, isolation, and
starvation all served to allow entry into tilings otherwise beyond the senses, the
opening of a sphere outside of ordinary perception (2002,100).

In both the Confucian and Daoist environments, the practice enhanced die
awareness that one was part of a larger network—of spirits and ancestors in
one, of Dao and qi in the other. It also connected practitioners to their parents:
the ancestral forbears in Confucianism (Sommer 2003, 210); Dao, Heaven and
Eardi in Daoism (Mugitani 2004). This similarity is not accidental. As Deborah
Sommer points out, “the Daode jing shares the same vocabulary as the liminal
experience of the spirit world in Confucian sacrificial offerings” (2003, 211).

The Classic Core

The Daode jing, moreover, supplies further details on the classical idea of sen¬
sory withdrawal. It notes that one should control sensory input, since overin¬
dulgence will result in loss: “The five colors will cause the eyes to go blind, the
five tones will cause the ears to be deaf, the five flavors will cause the palate to
be spoiled” (ch. 12). The practice is one of “decreasing and again decreasing”
(ch. 48), which matches the expression “mysterious and again mysterious” (ch.
1) as a description of Dao, and is interpreted by the Song scholar Chen Jing-
yuan PjftJjfJe as “abysmal and again abysmal” (yuan $jjf)—once more evoking the
abyss as an image for the pure mind at one with Dao (DZ 714; Fujiwara 1980,
666 ).

Like the sacrificer preparing in withdrawal, the practitioner of oblivion is to
leave the outside world behind: “Cut off contacts, shut the doors, and to the
end of life there wall be peace without toil” (Daode jing 52, 56). He should re¬
duce possessions, because “to have litde is to possess, to have plenty is to be
perplexed” (22), and make sure that “there always be no desires so that the
wondrous may be observed” (1). The text also makes it clear that any sense of
personality and social persona can only be harmful, causing nothing but trouble:
“The body-self is the reason why I have terrible vexations. If 1 did not have a
body-self, what trouble would 1 have? (13). It concludes that it is much better
to be insignificant and “embrace the One” (22).

Doing so, one reaches oneness with Dao, which is a return to one’s origin, an
inward movement of withdrawal: “All tilings flourish, but each returns to its
root. This return to the root means stillness, it is called recovering original des¬
tiny. Recovering original destiny is called the eternal, and to know the eternal is
called brightness” (16). This establishes a connection between stillness and clar¬
ity—the idea that as the mind settles like standing water it will not only become
unmoving but also clear and reflective, like the ideal mirroring mind of the sage.

Matching dais theme of simplicity and return, the Daode jing encourages its fol¬
lowers to “abandon learning,” to become like and infant and let the mind be
ignorant and dull. It speaks of “achieving highest weakness by being like an
infant” (10) and has the sage say: “The multitude are merry ... 1 alone am inert,
showing no sign [of desires]” (20). This sentence is explained in the Laotj
~Kianger \'hu Qi (Xianger Commentary) in terms of mental activity. 4

Ordinary people, it explains, have always plenty to plan for, to worry about, but
the sage has “abandoned and forgotten all” (Rao 1992, 27). Again the same
chapter reads: “Mine indeed is die mind of an ignorant man, indiscriminate and
dull. ... 1 alone seem to be in the dark.” Here the ~Kianger %hu gives the explana¬
tion that “the adept of immortality closes his mind and never worries about

4 The text is attributed to the third Celestial Master Zhang Lu 5r§|§. and dated to
around 215 C.E.; it was lost but recovered in fragments from Dunhuang (ed. Rao 1992; trl.
Bokenkamp 1997).

Discussion

false and evil, profit or gain.” The dullness of the sagely state of mind is thus
explained as a form of oblivion, a way of maintaining emptiness and peace.

Dao in the Daode jing is an underlying cosmic oneness, the “root” of all exis¬
tence, not as strongly described in terms of ever-changing flow of life as in the
Zhuangtj. The goal of Daode jing practice is accordingly the recovery and preser¬
vation of this underlying source, the complete merging with it in deep, dark,
dull quietude and firm stability. As it says: “Mysterious potency becomes deep
and far-reaching, and with it all tilings return to their original natural state.
Then complete harmony is reached” (65). Only when this is attained does
movement again occur—very much like the fasting woodworker or sacrificer
achieves complete stillness before going out and about Inis task. Then and only
then one can find “long life and eternal vision” (59), live in such a way that
“there is nothing that is not done” (48), and encounter good fortune in all one’s
undertakings—reach free and easy wandering and perfect happiness.

Energetic Practice

Yet another method leading to oblivion in the early texts is the alignment of the
body and stabilization of qi, best described in the “Inward Training” chapter of
the Guangi. According to this, adepts refine their qi through physical control
and moderation in lifestyle and diet, withdrawal from sensory stimulation, and
sitting in meditation. They pursue the fourfold alignment of body, limbs, breath,
and mind. First they take a proper upright posture and align their limbs, then
they breathe deeply and consciously, regulating the breath and creating a sense
of quietude within. From there they practice single-minded focus for the at¬
tainment of a tranquil mind, also described as the “cultivated,” “stable,” “excel¬
lent”, and “well-ordered” mind. This well-ordered mind then creates an open
space within, a lodging place {she jjf) for vital energy.

Once filled with the potency of qi, adepts achieve complete balance in body
and mind. They reach a level of simplicity that allows them to let go of tilings
and be free from sensory overloads. Finding a state of serenity and repose in
detachment from emotions that resembles the state of clarity and stillness pro¬
posed in the Daode jing, they walk through life in harmony with all, free from
danger and harm. At peace within and in alignment with the world, they attain
a level of physical health that keeps them fit and active well into old age. Reach¬
ing beyond ordinary life, they gain a sense of cosmic freedom that allows them
to “hold up the Great Circle [of the heavens] and tread firmly over the Great
Square [of the earth]” (Roth 1999, 112-13).

Another set of early practice instructions appears in an inscription on a dode-
cagonal jade block—possibly a knob on a staff (Chen 1982)—of the Zhou dy¬
nasty from die fourth century B.C.E and thus slighdy predates both Daode jing

The Classic Core

and “Inward Training.” Its inscription in forty-five characters has been studied
variously (Wilhelm 1948; Engelhardt 1996,19; Li 1993, 320-23). It reads:

To guide the qi, allow it to enter deeply and collect it. As it collects, it will
expand. Once expanded, it will sink down. When it sinks down, it comes
to rest. After it has come to rest, it becomes stable.

When the qi is stable, it begins to sprout. From sprouting, it begins to
grow. As it grows, it can be pulled back upwards. When it is pulled up¬
wards, it reaches the crown of the head.

It then touches above at the crown of the head and below at the base of
the spine. Who practices like this will attain long life. Who goes against
this will die. (Harper 1998,126; see also Roth 1997, 297-98)

This describes a qi practice still part of Daoist meditation and well documented
from the middle ages onward. In a position of quietude and sensory withdrawal,
practitioners inhale deeply, allow the breath to enter both the chest and the
mouth, and in the latter mix it with saliva, another potent form of qi in the
body. Moving their tongue around their mouth, they gather the saliva and gain
a sense of fullness, then swallow, allowing the qi to sink down. They feel it
moving deep into their abdomen, where they let it settle in the central area of
gravity, known in Chinese medicine as the Ocean of Qi and in Daoism as the
elixir field. There the qi rests and becomes stable. This may well be the point of
inner strength, stability, and even enstasy featured in the Daode jing.

As adepts repeat this practice, however, the qi first accumulates and becomes
stronger, then begins to move from stillness into movement, from clarity into
radiance. It does not remain in the lower abdomen but spreads through the
body or, as die text says, it “sprouts.” Once this is felt, adepts can consciously
guide it upwards—a technique that usually involves pushing it down to the
pelvic floor and then moving it gradually up along die spine, both in close co¬
ordination with deep breathing. Eventually a sense of connection to the flow of
cosmic energy develops (Kohn 2008b, 14-15).

In odier words, some sections of the Zhuanggi emphasize the complete aboli¬
tion of self, perception, and consciousness in something called “sitting in obliv¬
ion,” a state beyond life and death that allows die person to flow along with the
changes in ecstatic freedom—expressed also in numerous examples of playful
and exceedingly competent people, who have an uncanny knack for certain
tilings (such as Butcher Ding in ch. 3, or the swimmer in ch. 22) (see Crandell
2010). Odier sections as well as the Daodejing match traditional Confucian prac¬
tices of fasting in preparation for ancestral sacrifices and focus more on sensory
withdrawal and the attainment of internal stability. This stability, which comes
with a change in perception from the senses to the mind and eventually to qi, is
expressed as “clarity and stillness”—a dominant term in later Daoist literature.

Discussion

Yet other pre-Han sources, such as the “Inward Training” chapter of the Guan-
and the jade block inscription link meditation with physiological practices of
internal qi manipulation: collecting, visualizing, and guiding it through the body
in an effort to attain a stable, excellent, and well-ordered mind as well as health,
vigor, and long life.

The variety 7 of practices can be roughtly linked with stages of meditation in
early texts as described by Harold Roth (1997), which lead from alignment
(%heng 7F) through stillness (jingyf§) and clarity ( qing (ft) or radiance/brightness
(ming H£j) to emptiness (xu Hfg). Yet the texts are not rigid about them: breathing
practice may also lead to cosmic freedom, there is a fallling away of the self in
fasting, and sensory withdrawal plays a role in the progress to oblivion. This
apparent confusion has two effects: for one, it reveals the subde interconnec¬
tion between physical manipulation of qi, sacrificial methods of fasting and
purification, mental exercises in concentration and calmness, and the pursuit of
an ultimate way of being in the world; for another it allows adepts to tailor the
methods to their needs and unique abilities—another feature that became
dominant in later centuries. Ever since have Daoists been well aware of the
complexity and inherent power of their tradition and used all these techniques
in a multiplicity of ways. Under the heading “sitting in oblivion” they have,
moreover, integrated them into an organized system, expanded and well docu¬
mented in Tang-dynasty sources.

Chapter Two

Twofold Mystery

The first appearance of “oblivion” in the Tang dynasty occurred in the seventh
century in a teaching called Twofold Mystery ( chongxuan I§3Q after the phrase
“mysterious and again mysterious” in Daodejing 1. Named as such by the court
ritualist Du Guangting (850-933) in his extensive commentary collec¬

tion called Daode ^henjingguangshengji^^^j ^.jjflSiil (Extensive Sagely Mean¬
ing of the Daode jing, DZ 725; see Verellen in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 293-
94), it was prominent among the Daoist elite at the time and served as a theo¬
retical framework for integrating complex Daoist teachings. These had grown
exponentially in the early middle ages not only due to the many varied revela¬
tions of new scriptures, heavens, and practice methods, especially in the Great
Clarity (Taiqing T^ffif), Highest Clarity (Shangqing), and Numinous Treasure
(Lingbao JUlf) schools, but also in response to advanced Buddhist world¬
view. 1

The school inherited the teachings of the Northern Celestial Masters centered
at Louguan (in the Zhongnan mountains, southwest of modern Xi’an),

including their veneration of Lord Lao and their exegesis of the Daode jing in
the Xishengjing (Scripture of Western Ascension, DZ 726; trl. Kohn

2007; see Schmidt in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 685-86). Its thinkers were
court Daoists involved in politics and debates with Buddhists whose main in¬
terest was to present Daoist teachings in a comprehensive and competitive way
(see Assandri 2009). Heavily relying on the so-called tetralemma , a formation of
logic, and the two truths theory, adapted from the Buddhist Madhyamaka

1 For a survey of Daoist schools, see Kohn 2001; Robinet 1997. On Great Clarity, see
Pregadio 2006; on Highest Clarity, see Miller 2008; on Numinous Treasure, see Bokenkamp
2007. For the interaction with Buddhism, see Mollier 2008 and also ch. 7 below.

Discussion

school, they expressed their ideas largely in commentaries to die classics and set
the stage for the dieoretical understanding of meditation in the main ^mwang
system of the eighth century.

Their concepts, moreover, formed the foundation of the scholastic interpreta¬
tion of Daoist concepts, contained in encyclopedias and technical treatises both
of the early and the late Tang, which strove to classify, structure, and analyze
different forms of meditation, formalizing the distinction of enstasy and ecstasy
already visible in the core classics.

TheXishengjing

The Xishengjing is an important conceptual text of medieval Daoism that is
cited numerous times in ^mwang literature and has merited several Tang com¬
mentaries associated with Twofold Mystery. First mentioned in connection
widi the conversion of the barbarians and as such quoted in Buddhist polemics
(Ziircher 1959, 311), the text is set at the transmission of the Daode jing to Yin
Xi the Guardian of the Pass, and claims to contain Laozi’s oral explana¬
tions of Daoist doctrinal intricacies. It consists of thirty-nine sections, which
can be divided into five cycles of progressive teaching: Dao Knowledge, Dao
Practice, Cosmization, The Sage, and The Return. They describe in a rather
theoretical way how practitioners are to overcome deliberate, classificatory
drinking and become one widi the Dao in no-mind, no-body, and no-intention.

After first outlining Yin Xi’s practice, the text begins by expostulating on the
fundamental problem of speaking about the ineffable. Next it explains how
Dao is immanent in the world and outlines a way of accessing it. Third, a more
concrete explanation of theory and practice of Dao is given, with reference to
the practice of meditation, largely in terms of reaching emptiness and nonbeing,
peace and tranquility. The fourth cycle deals with the life of the sage, a true
person of Dao yet active in the world as teacher, helper, ruler. The final goal,
however, goes beyond even that and is the complete return to Dao, the joining
of body, mind, and self widi cosmic flow. The text ends with a recovery of the
beginning, describing Laozi’s ascension and his key advice to Yin Xi: “When all
impurities are gone, the myriad affairs are done” (Kohn 2007, 48-49).

In historical terms the text can be placed in the environment of Louguan, the
first Daoist monastery and center of the Nordiern Celestial Masters located in
the Zhongnan mountains west of modern Xi’an. It was probably founded by
Yin Tong jR-ift (398-499?), an alleged relative of Yin Xi who received the Dao
in 424, then embarked on a course in dietetics, nourishing on “yellow essence”
or deer-bamboo and asparagus (Needham 1976, 112), to become an accom¬
plished Daoist and assemble a number of disciples. Changing the earlier legend,
which placed the transmission of the Daodejing to the Hangu Pass east

Twofold Mystery

of modem Xi’an, he claimed that Louguan was where Laozi spoke the sacred
words, thus making it into one of the most holy places of the religion (Qing
1988, 434). The center rose to prominence after the end of the Daoist theoc¬
racy in the mid-fifth century, when numerous Daoists had to leave court and
needed a center to continue their community (see Kohn 1997).

By the late 470s, it had about forty Daoists in residence. At this time, Wang
Daoyi TExli^arrived and initiated a new phase of development. Not only were
the buildings repaired and greatly expanded, but a major collection of Daoist
scriptures and ritual manuals was undertaken, including not only northern but
also southern materials (Qing 1988, 435; Ren 1990, 222; Kohn 1997). Louguan
with this became a center of Daoist knowledge and served as an important lo¬
cation for the integration of the religion.

Still rather nebulous in the fifth century, Louguan became more historically
visible in the sixth, when its masters played an active role in both religion and
state. Wei JieipffJ (496-569), for example, a resident of Mount Hua and the
first commentator of the Xishengjing (Kohn 2007, 161), not only participated in
various minor debates but also served as die Daoist master who initiated Em¬
peror Wu in 567 (Lagerwey 1981, 19). Wang Yan (519-604), in 572-578,
was the leading scholar in the imperially sponsored compilation of a Daoist
catalog, known as the Zhunangjingmu (Catalog of the Bag of Pearls;

lost; see Kohn 1995, 219). Yan Da JgfUl (514-609), was a senior Daoist at Em¬
peror Wu’s Tongdao guan MIMIS (Monastery of Pervading Dao) and staunch
supporter of his policies and Daoist visions (Lagerwey 1981, 13). In the seventh
century, moreover, Louguan masters included influential figures such as Li
Rong and Cheng Xuanying (fl. 650), both respected at court, par¬

ticipants in debates with Buddhists, commentators on the classics, and expo¬
nents of Twofold Mystery (Kohn 2007,188-91; Assandri 2009, 39-46). 2

In their 'Kishengjing commentaries, Louguan thinkers paved the way for the
newly developing understanding of Daoist meditation. Thus, Wei Jie says:

The more advanced religious practice leading toward Dao is meditation.

The practitioner concentrates his internal qi and visualizes the body di¬
vinities. Sensory impressions cease. Cravings for outer things diminish.

The result is complete oblivion.

On the outside become oblivious of all seeing and hearing and in due
course all desires to see and hear will cease. On the inside become com¬
pletely oblivious of thinking and tasting, and in due course all craving for
language and food will end. When all without and within has ceased, one

2 They also included the abbot Yin Wencao (622-688), a possible elder relative

of one of the main ^uowang authors in the eighth century. See ch. 3.

Discussion

can be serene and obscure. In such a state one will return to the state
when there were no beings. (20.13; Kohn 2007,176)

The “state when there were no beings,” then, in adaptation of the Zhuang^t se¬
quence of decline, is the time when one was utterly unconscious of the exis¬
tence of anything at all. This is associated with the complete loss of selfhood:
“Originally I am free from self, yet suddenly there it is. Always remain oblivious
of this self, then you are like you were before birth” (12.15).

Li Rong echoes this when he says in Inis Xishengjing commentary:

When the One does not leave the body, one naturally attains Dao. Then
the Three Ones come to be permanently present in the three palaces
[elixir fields] of the human body. Concentrate on them and never let
them go; then the gods will naturally descend. Once the gods have de¬
scended, Dao of perfection is complete. (12.2)

While encouraging the visualization of deities along the lines of Highest Clarity
practice dominant at the time, he also repeatedly describes how one decreases
and again decreases, reduces conscious evaluations, enters a state of oblivion,
and then goes on to become oblivious of this. All conceptual hold on existence
is abandoned in favor of a growing attainment of Dao, all constructed mental
states are given up in favor of practical experience, the traces left behind for
that which left the traces. A key passage is in his commentary to Daodejing 14:

One goes beyond beings and returns to where there are no beings. In a
state without beings there are no forms to be seen or sounds to be heard.
Thus one joins with the invisible and the inaudible. With these, one re¬
verts to complete serenity. (Yan 1983, 777)

This closely matches Cheng Xuanying’s explanation of guoivang. He says:

Even though auditory perception belongs to the ears and visual power is
a function of the eyes, they ultimately depend on the mind. Once one
has awakened to the fact that the body does not really exist, that the
myriad states of the mind are empty, then one can smash up one’s body,
drive out intellect and do away with understanding. (DZ 745, 7.39b)

Like Guo Xiang, Cheng sees the two aspects of sitting in oblivion as “a separa¬
tion from one’s bodily form on the outside” and “a dismissal of all mental
knowledge on the inside.” As the sage has thus given up any personal ego-
identity in either mind or body, his wisdom is characterized as “perfect and
oblivious” (Robinet 1977, 245). While continuing the traditional pattern, these
thinkers thus also advanced its understanding, integrating alternative meditation
methods and new conceptual structures to bring it to an entirely new level.

Twofold Mystery

Levels of Truth

The name Twofold Mystery goes back to the expression “mysterious and again
mysterious” in Daode jing 1. The word “mysterious” (xuan is explained by

Cheng Xuanying in his commentary.

Mysterious means deep and profound. It is also an expression for being
without obstructions. The two minds of being and nonbeing, the two vi¬
sions of outcome and subtlety all spring from the one Dao. They arise
together, but have different names, but despite their different names they
belong to the one Dao. This is called deep and profound.

The mysterious nature of depth and profundity is realized in the return
of principle to no obstruction. Being neither obstructed by being nor ob¬
structed by nonbeing—this is what we mean by mysterious, (ch. 1; Yan
1983, 303; Robinet 1977,108)

Twofold Mystery thus envisions the mystical process in two steps, described as
double forgetting (jianwang Practitioners must first discard all concepts of

being, then proceed to discard all ideas of nonbeing. These two are, moreover,
identified as mental projections (jing fa), i.e., illusory mental imaginations that
are projected outward and create an apparent reality of “being;” and active wis¬
dom (ghi ^jj 1 ) or mind as such (xin /jj), the inherent function of active con¬
sciousness which signifies “nonbeing” (Robinet 1977, 245). “Forgetting” both
means the reorganization of ordinary consciousness to absolute consciousness
and again from absolute consciousness to no consciousness at all in complete
oblivion. Yet the sagely state is not nothingness but the “embodiment of die
Dao of Middle Oneness,” a state of radiance and surging activity. Cheng says;

On the outside the sage has no mental projections that would be desir¬
able. On the inside he has no mind that could do any desiring. Mind and
mental projections both obliterated, mind becomes no-mind. Where
there were mental projections and illusions before, there is now only the
emptiness of mind. Yet even though the mind is no-mind, it shines forth
in numinous radiance, (ch. 3; Yan 1983, 313)

The division of mentation into projections and mind, die perception of being
and nonbeing, goes back to Buddhist Madhyamaka. Founded in the second
century by the Indian thinker Nagarjuna, it made a strong impact on Chinese
Buddhism in the fifth and sixth centuries. 3 Its main Chinese exponent was Ji-
zang Us (549-623) whose works Erdi %hang — (On the Two Levels of

3 For discussions of Chinese Madhyamika, see Fung 1952, 2:11, 293; Robinson 1967.
On Jizang’s impact on Daoist thought, see Kamata 1966, 84; Assandri 2009, 91-97.

Discussion

Truth) and Sanlun xuanyi ^.§$k£(ii§ (Mysterious Meaning of the Three Treatises)
formulated concepts of central importance for Twofold Mystery.

Here he assumes a basic dichotomy of two levels of truth, the worldly and the
absolute, being and nonbeing, projections and mind, which are realized in three
stages. First one moves from seeing reality or “all dharmas” as existent to un¬
derstanding that they are ultimately emptiness and nonbeing. Then one sees
that nonbeing, too, is a way of conceptualizing the world and moves into the
realm of nonduality by affirming both being and nonbeing as states of mind.
Third, one realizes that “both duality and nonduality are worldly truth, whereas
neither duality nor nonduality is the highest truth. . . . This is the Middle Path
without duality” (Chan 1963, 360; see also Ng 1993, 25-26).

The structure of the two levels of truth as applied to the three stages leads logi¬
cally to the analytical method of the “Four Propositions,” technically known as
the tetralemma and the hallmark of Madhyamaka as much as of Twofold Mystery:

affirmation of being;
affirmation of nonbeing;
affirmation of both, being and nonbeing;
negation of both, being and nonbeing.

(Robinson 1967, 57; Robinet 1977,117; Assandri 2009,1)

In practice, meditators proceed from the ordinary worldly assumption that eve¬
rything exists to the enlightened vision that all is empty. This is the first stage of
mystery, decreasing, and oblivion. Once this state is reached, the conviction
that all is empty becomes in itself a form of attachment. Emptiness becomes an
established way of looking at the world, a kind of mental state, a created illu¬
sion. It is therefore necessary to proceed further and go beyond emptiness.
Practitioners have to discard even nonbeing in order to realize that all and eve¬
rything is both being and nonbeing at the same time. This in turn leads to the
insight that, since all is being and nonbeing at the same time, tilings ultimately
neither exist nor not exist. As Cheng Xuanying says:

Adepts must first discard all desires, then proceed to discard the level of
no-desires. Only then can they truly accomplish twofold discarding of
the two sides and wondrously merge with the Dao of Middle Oneness.
Beings and ego looked upon in equalized fashion, mental states and wis¬
dom both forgotten—when someone makes such a state his principle of
government, then everything will be well ordered, (ch. 3; Kohn 2007,

183)

Daoists thus not only wish to attain the personal state of unlimited freedom in
oblivion but see its attainment as a way to cosmic and political order, still pur¬
suing the age-old dream of Great Peace.

Twofold Mystery

Observation

Another dimension of meditation that developed under the impact of Twofold
Mystery is the scholastic definition and classification of different types, which
further enhances the difference between the enstatic and ecstatic modes and
paves the way for the systematization of 3 uowang in the eighth century. The
main source here is the encyclopedia Daojiaoyishu'diLWtWkWi (The Pivotal Mean¬
ing of Daoist Teaching, DZ 1129), by Meng Anpai (fl. 699). 4 Written to

demonstrate the depth and sophistication of Daoist thought in the face of
Buddhist criticism, the text adopts and reconceptualizes many Buddhist con¬
cepts, integrating them successfully into a Daoist worldview. For example, it
speaks of “the three vehicles” (sancheng TAfjt), but rather than using die term to
designate distinct traditions of Daoism, it applies it as a generic device for ac¬
knowledging the mutual validity of different Daoist goals or sensibilities. Simi¬
larly it adopts the term “body of the law” fasten , dharmakaya ), which in
Buddhism refers to the spiritual or true body of the Buddha, and uses it to de¬
note the cosmic nature of the human body (see Assandti 2009,179-83).

The ten juan of the text divide into thirty-seven sections, five of which are lost.
Within each section the material is first presented according to “Definition” (yi
§!) and “Explanation” (shi fljl), then supplemented with further references and
interpretations.

Section 7 on “The Twelve Classes” of scriptures, provides a list of different
methods used for spiritual attainment. It has:

1. Meditation on deities and visualization of perfected;

2. Mind fasting and sitting in oblivion;

3. Pacing the void and flying through emptiness;

4. Nourishing by inhaling the six qi\

5. Practicing healing exercises \daoyin Hjtij [] according to the three luminants.
( 2 . 22 b)

All of these, it asserts, “work with mind and qi in mutual support and lead to a
mystical pervasion of spirit and Dao.” Presenting thus physical and longevity
techniques in direct connection with the guiding of qi and more meditative
practices, the text shows the way toward integrating the different Daoist sys¬
tems of practice—a challenge taken up successfully by later Tang masters.

4 The text is the sole subject of Wang 2001. It has been indexed in Nakajima 1984a.
Discussions appear in Assandri 2009, 72-76; Bokenkamp 1986, 141; Kamata 1966, 202;
Kohn 1992, 149-54; Kohn and Kirkland 2000, 352; Ren and Zhong 1991, 878-79; Robinet
1997, 191-92; Schmidt in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 442; Sharf 1991, 56-60; Sunayama
1980, 43; Yoshioka 1959, 309-68.

Discussion

In section 17, next, it focuses specifically on “observation” the technical term
used for both Daoist visualization and Buddhist insight practices. It distin¬
guishes stability and insight ( dinghui /Eil§), matching states achieved through
cessation and observation ( samathd-vipasyana ; tjnguan [HE: “stop and look”) as
outlined in the texts of the Tiantai school. It describes them as the “won¬
drous gates of emptiness and existence” which lead to the attainment of the
“field of Twofold Mystery” and the “ford of double relinquishing,” thereby
finding access to ultimate perfection and “liberation from all dharmas” (5.3b).

In its “Explanation,” the text next renames the two types as “observation of qT
and “observation of spirit,” then identifies the terms qi and spirit as body-self
and mind. In other words, it sees the two fundamental kinds of meditation
practice described here as focus on physical phenomena and on mental occur¬
rences—what later adepts of internal alchemy speak about in terms of essential
inner nature and original destiny ( xingming 'Sifty). The goal of the practice, then,
is to create mental stability by focusing on the “form and image” of the body-
self and to open up to “empty insight” by allowing the stable mind to flow
about freely “without obstructions or limits” (3b).

Next, die Daojiaoyishu cites the Benjijingj$- (Scripture on Original Time; ed.
Wu 1960, Wan 1998), another text used variously by the exponents of oblivion
in the eighth century. Compiled in the beginning of the Tang, its authors were
the Daode jing commentator Liu Jinxi and Li Zhongqing both

residents of the Qingxu guan dfMtllS (Clear Emptiness Temple) in Chang’an
and active in the Buddho-Daoist controversies (Robinet 1977, 102-3; Sharf
1991, 36-37; Assandri 2009, 40-41).

The Benji jing presents itself in a Mahayana format, claiming to document the
sermons of a variety of celestial beings, including traditional Daoist deities,
such as die Heavenly Worthy, Lord Lao, Zhang Daoling, and die Sovereign of
Heavenly Perfection, together with bodhisattva-like figures, such as Universal
Virtue. The title phrase benji originates in Buddhist literature, where it occurs in
the Chinese title of the Samyuktagama sutra (T. 99, 2.240b) and refers to the state
before universal creation. The expression evokes an image found in an ancient
Indian origin myth, according to which being develops from nonbeing through
the formation of a cosmic egg that splits into Heaven and Earth. The various
chapters of the text are not integrated perfectly but show a shift in the role and
importance of Lord Lao (see Assandri 2008).

The Benjijing, like other texts of the era, focuses on the notion that all sentient
beings have “Dao-nature” ( detoxing xM'lrf;), an adaptation of Buddha-nature,
which is their true so-being as it is “embodied in all conscious beings and even
all animals, plants, trees and rocks” {Daojiaoyishu 8.6b; Kamata 1969, 11-80).
The goal of Daoist practice is the full realization of this Dao-nature through a
variety of practices, including nonaction and various meditations, as well as by

Twofold Mystery

gaining full comprehension of the world according to this vision. Much of the
argument of the Benjijing follows Buddhist models, making use of Madhyamika
dialectics.

The text was widely known in the Tang, as is documented by its survival in
eighty-one Dunhuang manuscripts and its frequent citation in other Daoist
works. In 741, Xuanzong had it copied in temples throughout the land so that
it could be recited and lectured on during purgation rites. He credited a subse¬
quent abundant harvest to those activities (Benn 1977, 248-49; Sharf 1991, 39).

The Benjijing as cited here confirms the analysis of the Daojiaojishn , adding the
importance of visualizing deities in the process of merging with Dao. Oi in this
context is “a flickering image, coming to match the individual body-self,” while
spirit is described as without bent or limit, thus “illuminating emptiness and
existence.” The text further identifies observation as the conscious activity of
thinking and examining—thinking meaning “visualization of wondrous one¬
ness,” while “examining” is to “envision the shapeless” (3b). It also adds that
“proper observation” (jhengguan JESI) means to “not take in, not let go, not
move, not rest—just entering oneness and the gate of the wondrous” (4a). This
is the attainment of the first level which is also no level at all, since there is ul¬
timately nothing to be attained (4a). From here, it expands further on the dis¬
tinction between observation of qi and of spirit, linking them with the proper
understanding of being and nonbeing, the apperception of “wondrous being”
and “perfect emptiness,” as well as with the cultivation of states beyond and
within the world (4a).

Emptiness

Following this, the Daojiaoyishu moves on to classify observation differently by
distinguishing the three observations of “apparent dharmas” jiafa '(Izffy), “solid
dharmas” (shifa Hflfy), and “partial emptiness” (piankong M?u). It defines them
as states before mysterious awakening (xuanwu jfyjpf) and part of the “Lesser
Vehicle,” thus not signifying the full level of attainment. It has:

As concerns the observation of apparent dharmas, “apparent” means
having a temporary appearance, whereas “dharmas” refers to embodied
reality. . . . For example, when it comes to understanding the fact that the
five aggregates [matter, feeling, perception, reaction, and consciousness]
make up oneself, how could one know which aggregate is oneself? Thus
the Zhuangj says, “The hundred joints, the nine openings, the six organs
all come together and exist here. But which part should I feel closest to?”

[ch. 2]. If you don’t feel very close to any part as the one that constitutes
yourself, you have begun to understand the emptiness of apparent
dharmas. (4b-5a)

Discussion

In other words, the first step is to see one’s body as consisting of a variety of
interrelated forces and activities, none of which can be truly defined as “I” and
thus give rise to a permanent sense of ego-identity. Seeing this, one’s attach¬
ment to projected reality and the shenanigans of the mind is first loosened.
Then one can move on to the “observation of solid dharmas.”

[This] deals with the embodied substance of everything. Knowing al¬
ready that all apparent dharmas are empty, you must now ask: What is
embodied substance? Where does it come from? It must arise from
something else. And if it comes from something else, that means that
there is an endless chain of arising. And if there is no such endless chain,
that means that it arises from emptiness. If we say, however, that it arises
from emptiness, then we must again push on this emptiness. But empti¬
ness is not anything—so how can we say it gives rise to anything? In this
way we can understand that real dharmas cannot be accepted either. This
is the observation of real dharmas. (5a)

This closely echoes the discussion in the chapter on “Making All Tilings
Equal” (Qiwulun W$]m) in the Zhuangtq which, too, searches for the “not yet
beginning of not yet beginning of beginning,” i.e., it poses the question of
where human existence ultimately originates (Graham 1969, 155). As Guo
Xiang reformulates:

What came into existence before there were beings? If I say that yin and
yang came first, then since yin and yang are themselves entities, what
came before them? Suppose I say nature came first, but nature is only
things being themselves. Suppose I say that Perfect Dao came first, but
Perfect Dao is perfect nonbeing. Since it is non-being, how can it come
before anything else? Then, what came before it? There must be another
thing, and so ad infinitum. (24.3b; Chan 1963, 335).

Guo Xiang concludes, “We must understand that tilings are what they are
spontaneously and not caused by anything else” (Knaul 1985b, 19). The Daojiao
yishu, on the other hand, by the same reasoning reaches the realization that eve¬
rything is empty, i.e., lacks substantial permanent existence. It moves on from
there to the “observation of partial emptiness”:

“Partial” here means not yet proper, whereas “emptiness” refers to a
vacuous, pervasive way of seeing. This is practiced in order to get rid of
all the numerous diseases of attachment which all beings are suffering
from. Thereby one comes to realize emptiness little by little. (5a)

The full attainment of emptiness, then, means that one takes emptiness as emp¬
tiness and nothing else (5b), which is realized in yet another set of three forms
of observation, that “being” (you ^f), “nonbeing” (wu 4S), and “the Middle
Way” (yhongdao (Kamata 1963, 211) This set most closely resembles the

Twofold Mystery

Tiantai system which also classifies observation in three types of “apparent
dharmas,” “emptiness,” and “the middle” (Ng 1993, 136). The first means
coming to understand that one is obstructed {at $f§) by substance and solidity as
created in mental projections (5a). The second leads to the appreciation of
nonbeing as freedom from obstructions, however, the notion itself of being
free from obstructions turns out to be yet another obstruction (6a). Eventually,
by observation of the Middle Way one sees that being and nonbeing also coin¬
cide with not being and not non-being and thus goes beyond all perception
(6b). This is the ultimate attainment of emptiness, the vision of life from a per¬
spective of oblivion.

Later Interpretations

Further formulations of Twofold Mystery thought and classifications of medi¬
tation appear in the late Tang and early Song, in a group of texts that present a
comprehensive religious Daoist philosophy. They include first the Sanlunjuan-
%hi HlroTCH (Primordial Pointers of the Three Theories, DZ 1039), which has
three sections on “Dao as Ancestor” (daospng jUj^c), “Vacuous Delusions” (xu-
wang fU^I), and “The True Source” (%henyuari Jptyjgt). The “three theories” of the
title can also refer to the original unity of Dao, mind, and inner nature as well
as to the subtle aspects of body energy: essence, qi, and spirit (De Meyer in
Schipper and Verellen 2004, 308). Citing the Zhuangsg by its honorific title,
which was bestowed in 742, it is probably of late Tang origin.

Next is die Daotilun'M .fftim (The Dao and Its Embodiment, DZ 1035; partial
trl. Kohn 1993, 19-24), transmitted by a certain Tongxuan xiansheng
who could be Sima Chengzhen or Zhang Guo, but is most likely Zhang Jian-
ming 5HJI|0h[ (d. 939) (De Meyer in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 306). The text
is written in question-and-answer format like the recorded sayings (yulu g§ii)
of Buddhist masters and divides into three parts, “On Laozi’s Daojing ,” “Ques¬
tions on Dao,” and die “Meaning of Dao Embodiment.” It is highly theoretical
and scholastic, but makes some reference to stages of oblivion.

Third is the Dadao lun (On the Great Dao, DZ 1037), ascribed to Zhou

Gupu J§||]S]^, which cites Du Guangting’s Guangshengji and observes Song-
dynasty taboo characters—thus belonging to this period. It focuses on a logical,
scholastic interpretation of Daoist thought and divides into eighteen sections,
including “LTtmost Dao,” “Handing Down the Teaching,” “Distinctions,”
“Mind Practice,” and “Cultivating Dao” (see Sakauchi 1996; Schipper and
Yuan in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 738-39).

The texts contain highly speculative analyses of Dao and its role in the world.
Thus the Daoti lun begins by defining it as beyond all, neither being nor nonbe-

Discussion

ing, neither formless nor formed, neither right nor wrong. The text then uses
Madhyamika logic to affirm die double and yet nondual nature of Dao, con¬
trasting it with inherent potency and offering various similar pairs, including
Dao and beings, principle and affairs, emptiness and existence, and names and
reality. In all cases the two are two yet not-two, the same yet different, born yet
unborn, nameless yet named. Both are part of the same ultimate mystery, and
so appear in different ways under different conditions. To realize diem, one
must practice double forgetting and sit in oblivion to reach the state of natural¬
ness or so-being in the totality of Dao. As the text has:

As Dao pervades and transforms all things, known and named, only by
becoming oblivious this pervasion can one truly encounter its inherent
potency. Then one can go along completely with all names and standards,
dissolve all traces and allow potency to complete both. From there, one
can go on to obliterate once more, even giving up on the ancestor [Dao]
and the ultimate [root of creation]. Then one can be free from all rules
and control. Should at that point any desires appear, they can be guided
back to the mysterious origin. They will duly weaken and perish, (pref. la)

Outlining the cosmology of Dao, the text explains how it underlies all existence
and brings forth beings in a mutual productive relationship: “Beings need Dao
to embody themselves. At the same time, Dao needs beings to embody itself,”
like fish depending on water (2a). Yet, however much tire multitude of beings
are essentially only manifestations of eternal Dao, they still begin to become
separate and have names. These names signify a projection of mental states,
which need to be overcome to find one’s true birthright as part of Dao:

Diminish and again diminish, and there will be no fetter that does not
dissolve. Dao and its inherent potency both obliterated, one mysteriously
joins beings and oneself in pervasive oneness. Thus one can be great and
overflowing [like Dao]. (3a)

The Dadao lun , in its last section on “Observation and Cultivation,” too, em¬
phasizes the distinction between projections and the pure mind, saying that “all
deluded imaginings and upside-down perception originate from the mind
which brings forth distinctions and classifications, is attached by thoughts to
the body-self identified as “I,” hangs on to projected reality, and gives rise to
delusion” (23a). Echoing the Daode jing and citing the Yebao yfygljtflalS (Scrip¬
ture of Karmic Retribution, DZ 336), 5 it notes that “the reason why we are
troubled by a host of sufferings is that we have a body-self. Once immersed in
the cycle of life and death, we cannot get free from it by ourselves” (23a).

5 Dated to the late sixth century, this text details rules of karmic cause and effect. See
Nakajima 1984b; Kohn 1998c; Lagerwey in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 518-20.

Twofold Mystery

But there is a way out, through attaining clarity and stillness and moving into
complete oblivion. The text has:

All we need to do is stabilize the will and observe the body-self. In effect
all perception is vacuous and lop-sided. Once we come to know that all
is vacuous and lop-sided, deluded imaginings gradually dissolve. When
deluded imaginings are dissolved, one will rest in clarity and stillness
both within and without and spontaneously reach awakening.

The path that leads to this is called oblivion of the body-self. Once one
has obliterated the body-self, all delusion and entanglements vanish
automatically. Zhuangzi says: “At peace with the times and going along
with all situations, sorrow and happiness have no way to enter in” [ch. 3].

This is the state of self-oblivion of the accomplished person. (23b)

More specifically, it defines observation as wisdom and the detached regard of
universal order. It also cites the Benji jing which defines it on three different
levels that match the mind-fasting of the Zhuangzi-. as organically seeing outside
objects with ones eyes; as evenly mirroring all objects with pure spirit; and as
going beyond both by “abandoning the myriad phenomena on the outside and
intercepting the host of karmic conditions on the inside.” Once competent in
doing this, “one enters the mysterious and there are gradual steps—there is
only the straight path of behaving in a sagely manner” (23a).

The Benjijing also appears in the Sanlunyuan^hi, where it is cited with a passage
that compares the pollution of the pure mind by even a single deluded thought
to the lighting of even a single spark in a dark room: it takes very litde to dispel
the original ambiance. Thus “the sages say: Guard the One and find a thousand
certainties; err in the One and get entangled in a myriad doubts” (2b). Continu¬
ing with the light imagery, the text next says that mental projections hide the
true mind like mist and clouds obscure the light of the sun and that one only
needs to purify oneself to emptiness and reach a state of oblivion: not knowing
why or what one is forgetting (3a).

Still, there is perception, described in a way that merges Daoist and Buddhist
terms and is reminiscent of Zen: before oblivion and enlightenment, we know
and see tilings as being so. Becoming oblivious of knowledge and vision, we
enter an altered state that is not yet complete. Once completely oblivious of self
and others, there is complete awakening, and once again we know and see
tilings as being so but on a new and refined level. Once perfect knowledge and
perfect vision are attained, truly nothing is seen or understood any longer—the
self has merged completely with the origin, “wisdom and inner nature become
one, flowing everywhere in full pervasion” (3a).

The text also establishes several levels of attainment, describing a sequence that
reaches from purity (cheng 'M) through quietude (jing jf§?), oblivion (wang ify),

Discussion

enlightenment ( tning Bf[), and open pervasion (da HI) to realizing awakening and
completing perfection ( liaowu cheng^hen T'fn'JjScJO (2b-3a). These go hand in
hand with changes in the basic make-up of the mind, reaching from coarse
through fine (xi |fH) and subtle (mi to wondrous (miao #(!>). Through purifi¬

cation and cultivation one makes the mind extremely coarse, and its fine aspect
emerges; one makes it extremely tine—i.e., clear and soft, pure and plain—and
its subtle dimension comes to the fore; one makes it extremely subtle—defined
as spirited and lustrous, empty and serene—and its wondrous nature is acti¬
vated; one makes it extremely wondrous—utmost and profound, perfect and
part of the source—and it merges with Dao (5b-6a).

Within this framework, then, the text further defines different modes of work¬
ing with the mind to reach various levels of stability:

1. tame the mind and rest in oneness: stability in calmness

2. make the mind into ashes and forget oneness: stability in dissolution

3. awaken the mind to perfect oneness: stability in cosmic peace

From here, the different forms of body change into the major kinds of super¬
natural being:

1. body-self Jp rising up in transformation of wings: become an immortal {[![;

2. body-form ascending in perfect spirit: become a perfected jfC;

3. body-structure f§ merging with inner nature: become a sage H?.

And at the same time, the mind attains different forms of perfection and awak¬
ening is guaranteed:

1. mind mirroring all with bright insight: one awakens to immortality;

2. mind pervading perfect spirit: one awakens to perfection;

3. mind harmonizing with inner nature: one awakens to sageliness. (5b)

Altogether the later documents of Twofold Mystery present various modes of
the path to immortality, adapting various aspects of Buddhism and integrating
the concepts and stages of eighth-century Daoists. Doing so, they establish a
theoretical framework for internal alchemy which begins its rise to prominence
at this time and set the stage for later interpretations and adaptations of obliv-

Chapter Three

Tang Masters

The fully developed system of sitting in oblivion appears in the works of four
leading Tang Daoist masters who were equally ensconced in the official reli¬
gious hierarchies of the day, closely involved with the imperial court, and sub¬
ject to the vision of unification and overall integration. They all also had some
contact with Buddhism and were conscious of the medical and longevity di¬
mensions of practice.

The earliest among them is Sun Simiao, today venerated as die King of Medi¬
cines who came to the Dao due to illness and, although initiated in the basic
ranks of the integrated hierarchy, remained due to his calling as a physician and
healer. Second is Yin Yin, the editor and commentator of the Wuchu jing and
possibly a relative of Yin Wencao, abbot of Louguan and major player in the
seventh century. The most important among them is Sima Chengzhen, patri¬
arch of Highest Clarity and prolific author whose work is central to the system
of oblivion. The last of the group, finally, is Wu Yun, initiated and dedicated
Daoist as well as seeker for long life, who is particularly well known as a poet
whose stanzas on ecstatic journeys have become famous far and wide.

Sun Simiao 1

Sun Simiao was born in 581 near the western capital of Chang’an. Ac¬

cording to official biographies, which tend to stereotype masters as child prodi¬
gies and emphasize personal virtues, such as bone-deep honesty and a hesita-

1 The next few sections are adapted from the extensive discussion of Sun’s and Sima’s
lives and works on physical practices in Kohn 2008b, ch. 4.

Discussion

tion to accept imperial honors, he was a precocious child who studied eagerly
from an early age. By age twenty he supposedly not only had an extensive
knowledge of the classics, but was also familiar with Buddhist and Daoist scrip¬
tures. Despite several invitations to serve at the imperial court under die Sui
and early Tang dynasties, he went to live in seclusion on Mount Taibai
in the Zhongnan mountains, about a hundred miles from his ancestral home. 2

In contrast to this shining and easy childhood that brought forth an upright
and noble character, an autobiographical note in the preface to his Qianjinjao-
fang (Essential Priceless Prescriptions) notes that he was a rather

sickly boy who underwent all kinds of treatments, thus inspiring a great interest
in medical matters and an inclination toward longevity practices and Daoist
seclusion. The text says:

In my childhood I suffered from a cold disorder due to winds and con¬
stantly consulted physicians. My family’s finances were exhausted to pay
for medicine. So it was that during my student years I held the medical
classics in special regard, and that even in my old age I have not set them
aside.

As to the reading of pulses and other techniques of diagnosis, the gather¬
ing of herbs and their compounding, administration and dosage, hygiene
and the various precautions associated with health—when I heard of any
man who excelled me in any of these, no distance would keep me from
him. I would learn what he had to teach and apply it. When I reached
maturity, I became aware that I had attained some understanding. (Sivin
1967, 271; Engelhardt 1989, 279)

This documents Sun Simiao’s early start in medical studies due to an intense
personal need and die complete dedication of his efforts to being the best and
knowing die most in this field. To this end he also traveled widely, collecting
ancient books and recipes all over the country and, especially between 605 and
615, engaged in various alchemical experiments to find the medicine of immor¬
tality, thus entering the realm of religion and going beyond the goals of healing
and long life.

As regards meditation, it is likely that—like Sima Chengzhen—he received in¬
struction in basic Buddhist practice as based on the Tiantai school, i.e., in
concentration through breath awareness ( samatha ) and open awareness in in¬
sight (yipasyana) (Sakade 2007, 12). As a healer, he prescribed various medicinal
formulas to support the practice, using, for example, the juice of die mulberry
(leaves, seeds). If taken regularly over a period of ten days, he says,

- Details of Sun’s early life are outlined in Sivin 1968, 82-96; Engelhardt 1989, 266;
Sakade 2007a, 10; Chen 2000, 91-94.

Tang Masters

awareness will be broad and wisdom pervasive, leading to the first dhyana
\chanding samadhr, stage of absorption]; taking it for twenty days,

one reaches the second dhyana-, after one hundred days, one finds oneself
in the fourth dhyana-, and after one entire year of consecutive use, the
fourth dhyana is reached. Then the myriad phenomena will all be seen for
what they really are and one will be able to let go of the World of Desire,
observing all the different worlds and mental projections like seeing the
palm of one’s hand, thus realizing Buddha-nature \jian yfexwzj Jap:.

kensho\. (Qianjinyifang 12.2; Sakade 2007,12)

Most of his recorded case histories, and therefore his main activities as a physi¬
cian, date from 616 to 626. In 633, it seems, he was in Sichuan, where he con¬
ducted various alchemical experiments and contracted “cinnabar poisoning”
(dandu He reports on the illness in his Oianjmyif any (Supple¬

mentary Priceless Prescriptions):

While asleep, I felt pain throughout the flesh and bones of my extremi¬
ties. By dawn, my head was aching and my vision unclear; there was a
blister the size of a crossbow pellet on my left temple, which ached so
badly I could not bring my hand near it. By noon the swelling had spread
to my right temple, and by night it had become general. My eyes, once
closed, could not be reopened. I came very close to death. The county
magistrate, Squire Zhou, treated me with every sort of medication, but
without remission. After seven days I myself worked out a prescription
which was magical in its efficacy. (22.30a; Sivin 1968, 251)

The same text also contains several passages suggesting that Sun Simiao was an
ordained Daoist of the Celestial Masters level, i.e., the lowest and most popular
level of the Tang Daoist hierarchy (Kohn 2004b, 16). He refers to certain exor-
cistic formulas that were reserved for exclusive recital by Daoist masters and it
seems unlikely that someone uninitiated would have had access to them (Sivin
1978, 312; Engelhardt 1989, 267). Even in Inis medical function, moreover, he
applied Daoist recipes, using the same methods for herbal compounds as for
alchemical drugs and prescribing remedies that on occasion involved massive
doses of highly toxic ingredients such as mercury (Sivin 1968, 142).

Besides continuing to heal and pursue immortality, Sun apparendy did his main
writing between 730 and 760. In 759, having become quite famous as a physi¬
cian and master of long life, he joined the retinue of Emperor Gaozong in an
informal capacity. After about fifteen years, he requested permission to retire
from the court on account of illness and presumably died in 682, a good hun¬
dred years after his alleged birth in 581. These dates may well be an exaggera¬
tion of the chroniclers, eager to show him successful in his quest for long life.
They also claimed that he attained immortality, insisting that for one month
after his death there was no change in his appearance or physical decomposi-

Discussion

tion and that his corpse, when placed in the coffin, was as light as cloth—
information that should be taken with a grain of salt (Sivin 1968, 130; Engel-
hardt 1989, 267). Still, the chroniclers made a strong case for Sun’s extraordi¬
nary powers, leading to his wide-spread veneration as the King of Medicines in
Daoist temples and popular shrines to the present day.

Sun Simiao was a prolific writer. The standard histories of the Tang list twenty-
two works ascribed to him, a number that grew to about eighty over the centu¬
ries (Sivin 1968, 60; Engelhardt 1989, 277). Only a handful of these survive, the
most important among them being the “Priceless Prescriptions” series, exten¬
sive collections of highly technical medical information that date from the 650s
and are still actively used by physicians in China today (Sivin 1968, 132). As for
more spiritual works, Sun is credited with two brief general outlines on how to
best live one’s life: the Baosheng ming (On Preserving Life, DZ 835; trl.

Kohn 2008a, 134; see Despeux in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 353), a concise
treatise extolling moderation, a regular life-style, and virtuous attitudes; and the
Fushou lun |b§I1P|is (On Happiness and Long Life, DZ 1426), a presentation of
the workings of fate and various ways to enhance it. 3

Two further works on longevity techniques that are highly respected in Daoist
circles include first the Zhen^hongji (Pillowbook Record, DZ 837, YQ

33.1a-12a; see Engelhardt 1989), a collection in five sections that cover Pru¬
dence, Prohibitions, Exercises, OZ-Guiding, and Guarding the One—a visuali¬
zation of deities in the three elixir fields (see Levi in Schipper and Verellen
2004, 346-47). In addition, there is the Yangxingyanming lu (On

Nourishing Inner Nature and Extending Life, DZ 838; YQ 32.1a-24b), a sum¬
mary of nourishing life practices which is linked with various masters in the
bibliographies but may well be a work of Sun or of his disciples. It contains six
sections: General Observations, Dietary Precepts, Miscellaneous Taboos, Ab¬
sorbing Qi to Cure Diseases, Exercises and Massages, and Controlling Sexual
Activity. 4

Beyond these, two texts are more specialized and religious in nature: the Danjing
yaojue (Essential Formulas of Alchemical Classics, YQ 71; trl. Sivin

1968), which collects various formulas for preparing immortality elixirs; and the
text translated below, the Cunshen lianqi ming, a concise outline of basic medita-

3 This is probably the same as the Fu/u lun lUidid (On Happiness and Prosperity),
ascribed to Sun in the early bibliographies (Sivin 1968, 132). On these two texts, see
Despeux in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 353 and 743.

4 A Japanese translation of the entire text with extensive annotation is found in Mugi-
tani 1987. Sections 2 and 3 appear in English in Switkin 1987. Section 4 is translated and
analyzed in Jackowicz 2003. For a brief discussion as to authorship and provenance, see
Despeux in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 345-46.

Tang Masters

tion practice, followed by an outline five major stages of the mind and seven
stages of the self as it transcends to immortality which also feature in the Ding-
guan jing, appendix to the Zuowang lun.

Yin Yin

Yin Yin was the son of the scholar and Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn
Annals) specialist Yin Sizhen )?Tj||j|( (c. 716). Only little is known about him.
According to die Chang’an %hi (Record of Chang’an), he served as im¬

perial counselor under Xuanzong and was the abbot of the Suming guan
® (Monastery of Majestic Brightness) (8.5b; Mollier 2000, 62-63).

According to the Tangshu jfjflr (History of the Tang, ch. 34), he was the author
not only of the commentary to the Wuchujing translated below but also of a 15-
juan explanatory work on the Daode jing entitled Xinji f/fH (New Interpreta¬
tion). Gaining fame from this work, he was summoned to court by Emperor
Xuanzong and treated with great respect. The emperor appointed him as
Grand Master of Remonstrance, Member of the Academy of Scholarly Wor¬
thies, and Historiographer. Yin at first refused to accept these positions but
acceded to the imperial request in 737 and combined their related duties with
those of Daoist abbot. After his death in the 740s, he posthumously received
the rank of Policy Adviser in the Chancellery (De Meyer 2006, 48).

Yin’s role in Tang Daoism is enhanced by die possibility that he was a descen¬
dant of Yin Wencao (622-688) (Benn 1977, 117), who served as abbot

of the important institution of Louguan, which was renamed Zongsheng guan
zrciSiSl (Monastery of the Ancestral Sage) in the early Tang in response to the
institution’s support for the rising dynasty (Qing 1988, 436; Kohn 1997, 114-16;
1998a, 22; see also Bokenkamp 1994).

His life is recorded in the Da Tang Yin ^unshi bei (Inscription for

the Venerable Master Yin of the Great Tang Dynasty), a tomb memorial by
Yuan Banqian dated to 717 and contained in the Yuan collection Gu

Touguan sjyunyanqingjing (The Abundant Blessings of the

Purple Clouds at the Old Lookout-Tower, DZ 957, 1.4b-9b; also in Chen et al.
1988, 102-04). According to this, Yin Wencao was born in Tianshui in
modern Gansu, in a family whose noble traces go back well into the Zhou dy¬
nasty. His birth was accompanied by supernatural auspices, and he could read
immediately at birth.

From an early age, he was a great enthusiast of the Yin family and its noble
forebears (notably Yin Xi, the Guardian of the Pass who received Laozi’s Daode
jing), studied the Xisbengjing and the Numinous Treasure scriptures and gradu¬
ally moved closer to Iris Daoist career (1.5b). His goals clarified when he met

Discussion

Zhou Fa MSa, an accomplished Daoist, who became his teacher. He was the
first to introduce Yin to the arts of ecstatically flying through the universe and
gave him Iris initial lessons in immortality techniques. With his help Yin Wen-
cao was soon ready to join the illustrious ranks of the celestials (1.6a).

In 636, Yin renounced the householder’s life and joined the monastic commu¬
nity at Louguan. Training seriously in the advanced meditation and visualiza¬
tion, he soon became an accomplished master (1.6b). To develop to greatest
heights, he spent some time as a recluse in the Zhongnan mountains. In 649, a
spiritual voice told him that his old teacher had ascended and he went into
three years of mourning. After that, he went to Mount Taibai, where he had a
major mystical experience—’’seeing what he had never seen before, hearing
what he had never heard before” (1.6b). At this time, he also had his first vision
of tire god Laozi, descending to him as a huge nine-colored statue through a
thick layer of clouds and accompanied by tire reverberation of heavenly drums.

In 656, Yin Wencao left his seclusion and moved to the capital, then spend
over thirty years going back and forth and giving service to the empire. Em¬
peror Gaozong valued his counsel and rewarded him with ranks and honors. In
668, after a divine comet blessed the empire, he had the defunct residence of
the Prince of Jin restored and given over to Yin as the Haotian guan IlDk;®
(Monastery of Imperial Heaven) (1.7a). In 677, he made Yin abbot of the
Zongsheng guan, and in 679, he ordered him to celebrate Daoist rites in Luo-
yang, during which the deity Laozi descended in front of the assembled court,
surrounded by celestial officers and riding on a white horse (Kohn 1998a, 22).
The emperor was so taken with this impressive sign of celestial goodwill that he
asked Yin to write a formal account of the deity’s exploits: the Xuanyuan huangdi
shengji (Sage Record of the Emperor of Mystery Prime), a text in

ten juan and 110 sections, each of which contained an encomium (1.7b). In
addition, the emperor bestowed on him the formal title Great Officer of Silver-
Green Radiance and offered him the position of chamberlain of ceremonies.
Yin, however, refused the latter, preferring his Daoist career to more active
state involvement (1.8a).

In 688, Yin Wencao announced Iris impending transformation and ascended to
the empyrean. Besides his Laozi hagiography, he also wrote a supplementary
section to the account of Louguan masters, the Xiaomo lun JfJJfSiOT (On Dis¬
solving Evil), and the Quhuo lun JJUKfijjf (On Dispersing Doubts) (1.8b). He is
also known for his catalog of Daoist scriptures, the Yuwei Ranging
(Collected Scriptures of the Jade Net; Yoshioka 1959, 261).

Yin Yin, following in his presumed forbear’s footsteps, thus is another noble
representative of the group responsible for advanced meditation material: Dao-
ists, aristocrats, and active players at court.

Tang Masters

Sima Chengzhen

Sima Chengzhen W[|J§j§i3§i (647-735), 37 Ziwei bpfjjt or Baiyun xiansheng fJjfS
was the twelfth patriarch of Highest Clarity Daoism (see Engelhardt 1987,
35-61; Chen 2000, 94-95). A native of Henan, he was a descendant of the impe¬
rial house of the Jin dynasty that ruled China in the third and fourth centuries.
Even after losing the throne, the family remained at the top of the official hier¬
archy, so that Sima’s grandfather served as a senior governor under the Sui and
his father was a high-ranking officer under the Tang. Trained well in the clas¬
sics and arts of the gentleman, such as calligraphy and poetry, Sima is described
in the sources as a highly precocious and veity intelligent child. Some even claim
he was able to speak at birth.

Still, rather than dedicating himself to standard Confucian service, he opted for
a career in Daoism, which in the eighth century had risen to official status and
was die main religion supported by the state. He began his Daoist studies on
Mount Song HjfL[, the central of the five sacred mountains located near Luo-
yang in his native Henan. At the age of 21, in 669, he underwent Daoist ordina¬
tion under Pan Shizheng filflJffilE (594-682), the eleventh patriarch of Highest
Clarity and direct successor of Tao Hongjing |lD5rASr (456-536), the first official
leader and main coordinator of the school.

Continuing his climb through the Daoist hierarcfty and absorbing all the eso¬
teric rites and scriptures of the different schools, Sima was chosen to succeed
his teacher as leader of the school in 684. In this role, he understood himself
very much as an heir to Tao Hongjing, whom he sincerely venerated and vari-
ously praised in his writings. Moving the headquarters of the school, he settled
on Mount Tongbo flU'ffil-Ll in the Tiantai range in Zhejiang, returning to where
“at the beginning of the fifth century, the Highest Clarity texts were propagated
for the first time” (Strickmann 1981, 34) while also connecting to the flourish¬
ing Buddhist center there.

Sima Chengzhen was invited to court four times: first by r Empress Wu (r. 690-
705), then, in 711, by Emperor Ruizong (r. 710-711). This emperor built a
monastery for him in the Tiantai Mountains, and one of his daughters became
Sima Chengzhen’s disciple. The remaining two invitations were issued by Em¬
peror Xuanzong (r. 712-756): in 721, Sima initiated him as a priest of Highest
Clarity (De Meyer 2006, 23); in 727, he offered him a divine sword and mirror
cast and engraved by himself . 5 Following Sima’s suggestion, in 734 the emperor
had shrines to the gods of the five sacred mountains erected on each summit

5 This is documented in his Shanqing hanxiangjianjian tu _h(ff a feMSSH (Chart of a
Highest Clarity Sword and Mirror and Their Symbols, DZ 431), which describes the objects
and their inscriptions with explanatory comments. See Fukunaga 1973; Schafer 1979.

Discussion

and soon after ordered him to take up residence on Mount Wangwu Till 11.
located north of Luoyang and thus closer to the capital. It was also one of the
ten major grotto heavens of Daoism, thought to connect the world of the living
with that of the immortals. The emperor had a large monastery erected there,
the Yangtai guan I^USS (Sunlit Terrace Monastery), and Sima Chengzhen
spent the later part of his life there (Schafer 1980, 45; Engelhardt 1987). This is
also where the inscription of the Zuowang lun was engraved in 829, showing a
continued presence of Sima’s teachings and disciples.

Like Sun Simiao, Sima Chengzhen traveled widely, propagating Daoist teach¬
ings and seeking out learned masters. He was well versed in medical knowledge
and engaged in the various longevity practices, abstaining from grains for ex¬
tended periods, taking herbal medicines to enhance and transform his qi, and
engaging in all sorts of Daoist practices. However, unlike Sun Simiao who had
a predominantly medical focus, Sima’s entire practice was steeped in the reli¬
gious dimension of the teaching: connected at all times with the deities in the
body and the heavens and closely interlinked with ritual practices, talismans,
and incantations. Within this framework, he became known for his extraordi¬
nary powers. For example, a story in his biography in the tenth-century collec¬
tion Xuxian %huan IlflUlfll (Supplementary Immortals’ Biographies, DZ 295;
Penny 2000, 121; Verellen in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 429) tells how he and
another Daoist celebrated the fall purgation rites and, after a round of lengthy
rituals, went to sleep around midnight.

Suddenly the Daoist heard a sound. It seemed as if a small child
was reciting a classical text and as if bells of gold and jade were
sounding. He collected his clothes and crept closer to examine
the source of the sound. Then he saw a miniature sun on Sima’s
forehead. It was about the size of a coin and spread a bright ra¬
diance. He stepped closer and listened carefully. The sounds
came from Sima’s head. (1.2a; Engelhardt 1987, 41)

That is to say, Sima’s Daoist powers were such that the deities were present
within his body at all times, even during sleep. They were so prominent that
their radiance issued from his head and their chanting could be heard even with
ordinary senses.

Not only involved with rituals and devotion, Sima Chengzhen as patriarch of
the leading Daoist school also engaged in frequent interactions with the impe¬
rial court and tire aristocracy of the time and was mentioned variously in Tang
poems (see Kroll 1978). He had many close friends with whom he exchanged
poems and learned discussions, and went out of his way to make Daoist teach¬
ings available to lay adepts.

Tang Masters

His extant works speak of this effort. 6 7 For example, he promoted knowledge of
Daoist sacred geography in his Tiandi gongfu tu ykiftJlIljJffiB (Chart of [Divine]
Palaces and Provinces in Heaven and Earth, YQ 27). The text contains a list of
the seventy-two auspicious places of Highest Clarity with short explanations of
their whereabouts and probably had pictures in its original version. He also
enhanced understanding of what it meant to be a serious Daoist master in his
Shangqing shidi chert Tongbo %henren %hen tutsan Aj(Htlf (A

True Pictures and Praises of the Perfected of Mount Tongbo in Service of the
Imperial Radiance of Highest Clarity, DZ 612; see Verellen in Schipper and
Verellen 2004, 424-26). This work is a collection of eleven short biographies of
Highest Clarity saints connected with Mount Tongbo, in each case including an
illustration and words of praise.

Besides die Zuowang lun and Tianjin ty which describe stages of meditation and
map the path of Daoist cultivation, his most practical work is die Fuqijingyi lun
SIxlRiflfiliw (How to Absorb Qi and Penetrate [Ultimate] Meaning, DZ 830,
YQ 57), also extant in a variant version under die title Xiushengjangqijue {[IgA
(Formulas on Cultivating Life and Nourishing Qi, DZ 277)7 The text
outlines the different aspects of physical cultivation in nine steps, placing the
most advanced first. Reading it in reversed order, one should begin by estab¬
lishing a clear diagnosis, defining one’s physical condition and taking special
care to spot latent diseases that may or may not erupt in the future. In a second
step, one should treat these disease tendencies with various ^/-balancing meth¬
ods, then move on to energize die five inner organs, making sure they store
ample qi, and take care to live in moderation, avoiding excessive strain or emo¬
tions.

Moving into the more refined level of practice and starting to engage widi im¬
mortal dimensions, in step five one can gradually begin to replace ordinary
food with herbal concoctions, allowing the body to cleanse and refine itself as it
opens up to more subtle states. This, then, can be supplemented with “talisman
water,” i.e., the remnants of a burnt talisman mixed with water. Taking this,
adepts align themselves with the higher energies of the cosmos. The last three
steps involve healing exercises, the absorption of qi, and the ingestion of the
five sprouts, the pure energies of the five directions of die universe, which
firmly places the adept into the larger cosmic context of the Dao.

6 Altogether Sima Chengzhen wrote or edited fifteen works (Chen 1975, 58). Judged

from the titles, most of his lost works dealt with physical immortality practices, but they also
included a commentary on the Shengxuanjing (Scripture of Ascension to the Mystery;

DZ 1122 plus Dunhuang manuscripts; see Yamada 1992). This played an important role in
seventh-century Daoism and was frequently cited interchangeably with the Xishengjing,, one
of the textual forerunners of the Zuowang lun which quotes it heavily.

7 The text is translated and analyzed in Engelhardt 1987. For a survey, see Engelhardt
1989. For a discussion, see Baldrian-Hussein in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 373-74.

Discussion

Sima Chengzhen himself engaged in these practices and lived a long and
healthy life. What is more, according to die biographers, he bypassed death in a
well-orchestrated ceremony of ascension. In June of 735, after announcing his
imminent transformation for transfer to an official post in the celestial admini¬
stration, he sat quietly in meditation and accompanied by white cranes, purple
clouds, and celestial music, ascended to emptiness, vanishing before the as¬
tounded eyes of Inis disciples (Engelhardt 1987, 51). The Daoist master thus
returned to his true home above the clouds. He was posthumously awarded the
title Zhenyi xiansheng jjfjt—(Master of Auspicious Oneness).

Wu Yun

Quan Deyu HJlIJfi (759-818) notes that Wu Yun (d. 778) was born

around the year 710 in Huayin l|f|5|s near the sacred mountain of the west. 8
Dedicated to die Dao from an early age—some sources speak of age fifteen—
he studied first on Mount Yidi fnp^rfLl near Nanyang in Henan. There he “ex¬
tensively investigated the ancients and persistently pursued what is beyond dais
world. He cultivated the plant of immortality and rested among the clouds.
Fame and profit were meaningless to him” (De Meyer 2006,10-11).

In the early years of the Tianbao era (741-755), Wu Yun followed a summons
by Emperor Xuanzong and left his seclusion to attend an audience at court. He
then decided to pursue a more official career as a Daoist priest and went to
study on Mount Song, the sacred mountain of the center, where Sima
Chengzhen was also initiated. There he trained under Feng Qizheng a

disciple of Pan Shizheng, the eleventh patriarch of Highest Clarity (De Meyer
2006, 33).

Following this, he might possibly have moved to become a court official, but
failed die jinshi lUdr examination. Still, he came to serve the empire:

8 Quan wrote two biographies of Wu Yun, contained in Quan Tangn'en :iyilfpt(Complete
Tang literature), chs. 489 and 508. His more reliable account also appears as the preface of Wu’s
collected works in the Daoist canon (DZ 1051). They are translated in Kirkland 1986, 104-06;
collated into one narrative in Schafer 1981, 378-81; and discussed extensively in De Meyer 2006,
ch. 1. Quan’s work formed the basis for the official account of Wu Yun’s life in Jiu Tangshu )7)jJ ['
U (Old History of the Tang), ch. 192, and for its hagiographic development in the preface of the
Nantong tbyun neidan jiughangjing (Scripture in Nine Stanzas on Inner

Alchemy by the Great Lord of the Southern lineage, DZ 1054), both rather untrustworthy (De
Meyer 2006, 3-4). For an analysis of Wu’s biography, see Schafer 1981, 381-84; for a discussion
of the Confucian impact on his image, see Kirkland 1986, 96-103; for a careful historical descrip¬
tion of his life, see Kamitsuka 1979, 33-36; for an extensive discussion of his vita, including
much poeteic material, see De Meyer 2006,. ch. 1.

Tang Masters

In Tianbao 13 [754)], Wu Yun was summoned to [an imperial audience
in] the Hall of Great Unity, after which an imperial decree granted him
residence in the Hanlin Academy. Emperor Xuanzong leniently let
things be in the empire, and a favorable wind led the way. Thereupon
Wu submitted his Xuangang lun [The Mysterious Mainstays; DZ

1052] in 3 sections, which was rewarded with an imperial decree praising
and welcoming it. Determined to preserve his integrity and study immor¬
tality, Wu repeatedly memorialized the throne, begging to be allowed to
retreat so he could be like the birds and fish and find contentment in
marshes and ponds. (Quan, Preface; De Meyer 2006, 34; Kirkland 1986,

326)

Finally succeeding in this endeavor, Wu Yun left die court around the time of
An Lushan’s SSriSU-l rebellion in 755, drifting southeast to a region relatively
unaffected by die ensuing chaos (Kirkland 1986, 755; De Meyer 2006, 51). He
stayed on Mount Mao ^[JL[ near modern Nanjing in Jiangsu at the religious
center of the Highest Clarity school for some time, then moved on to Mount
Lu JjjtlJj where he wrote eight poems, two rhapsodies, and one inscription, the
latter containing a eulogy for the famous fifth-century Daoist Lu Xiujing
If (406-477). 9 It was composed in 761 {Ouan Tangmn 926; see Schafer 1981, 384;
Kamitsuka 1979, 35; trl. De Meyer 2006, 385-403). He seems to have enjoyed his
time there, as expressed in the following poem:

A long time I have been burdened by idle fame,

Causing me to leave the realm of retirement.

I always wished that my path should meet no obstructions,

What I secretly cherished, I have now indeed obtained.

My friends live among cloud-covered mountain peaks,

In their company I again shall find repose.

The wild goose has penetrated the blue depths of the sky,

Forester: put away your stringed darts.

(DZ 1051, 2.35a; De Meyer 2006, 56)

In the late 760s Wu Yun seems to have submitted once again to wanderlust and
traveled widely to a number of sacred mountains in the southeast, including
Mount Tianmen on the banks of the Yangtze, Mount Beigu JbSbU

near modern Zhenjiang and Mount Dadi fvtflf |_L[ (i.e., Mount Tianzhu fg
ftUj) in Yuhang near modern Hangzhou. No longer a refugee from the
capital, but a well-respected Daoist priest and poet, Wu finally settled down and

9 For these works, see Zongxuan xiansheng mnji (Collected Works of

the Master of Ancestral Mystery, DZ 1051). For an outline, see Baldrian-Hussein in Schipper
and Verellen 2004, 437-38. For translation of poems, see Schafer 1981; 1982. For a transla¬
tion and discussion of most works, see De Meyer 2006.

Discussion

organized a group of poets into a kind of “drink-and-sing” association under
the protection of the local magistrate Yan Zhenqing jHtj§[Jjj!|J (Kamitsuka 1979,
36; De Meyer 2006, 63; 67). Li Bai ^E=[ (701-762) joined the group, and the
two poets allegedly became good friends. For the next several years, he went on
occasional travels to further mountains but for the most part seems to have
engaged in advance Daoist practice, rituals, alchemy, and meditation. Wu Yun
died in the first month of 778. He was honored with the posthumous title
Zongxuan xiansheng fvSCjtZP (Master of Ancestral Mystery).

A prolific author, Wu Yun’s wrote some 450 pieces, of which only a fraction
remain: 130 poems, eight rhapsodies, three discourses, one memorial, two in¬
scriptions, and the Xuangang lun. For this volume, Iris most important work is
the essay Xinmu lun which is a fictional dialogue between the mind and the eyes
on who has predominance and should carry more responsibility in the process
of meditation. Also important are his Shenxian kexue lun (Immor¬

tality Can Be Learned, DZ 1051, 2.9b-16a; see De Meyer 2006, ch. 8) and his
Xingshen kegu lun nj t3|fnf (Body and Spirit Can Be Maintained, DZ 1051,
2.20a-26a; De Meyer 2006, ch. 9). While even these prose works are highly eru¬
dite and full of beautiful phrases, Wu’s poetry is truly outstanding, revealing a
first-hand experience of immortality and Daoist spiritual attainment, as Cycle 6
from his Buxu ci (Songs on Pacing through Emptiness, DZ 1051, 2.31a;

Schafer 1981; Kohn 2009, 229) shows:

The jasper terrace, measurable in kalpas,

Glitters alone beyond even Grand Network.

Always there are the clouds of Three Simplicities,

Crowding their brilliance, flying all around.

Feathered luminants drift by in bright morning light,

Rising and falling—how ever light and hazy.

Phoenixes cry forth in elegant melodies,

Perching and soaring above the rosy woods.

All jade emptiness, there’s neither day nor night,

The wondrous luminants, blazing ever brightly.

I take a look at the Highest Capital

And know how small really all the heavens are.

Chapter Four

Main Texts

The four Tang masters, besides all their other accomplishments, have written,
edited, or annotated the key texts on sitting in oblivion that have survived from
the middle ages and provide essential information on the integrated practice.
They center in the eighth century, with one dating from the early ninth and two
possibly from the late seventh. They also all center around the Zuowanglun and
stand in close relationship to it, just as their authors were connected within the
Daoist network of the high Tang.

The Tang constellation of texts on sitting in oblivion shows that there was a
rather strong school of meditation in the Daoism in this period. Centered
around Sima Chengzhen and located in the Tiantai range, in close proximity to
the Buddhist school named after this mountain, it combined ancient \mwang
practices with inner observation and Buddhist mindfulness meditation. It also
seems that some of the materials, and most probably the Zuowang lun itself, go
back to a series of lectures on the practice that—not unlike the “Recorded Say¬
ings” of contemporaneous Chan masters such as die Sixdi Patriarch (see Yam-
polsky 1967)—were recorded by disciples and later compiled into a more for¬
mal document

The likelihood is drat the original lectures were given in the 720s and compiled
into a first collection after the master’s death. This then formed the basis for
the inscription which was engraved on Mount Wangwu in 829, providing an
early, authentic record of the work. Versions in the Yunji qiqian, in Tang literary
collections, and in the Daoist canon followed, editors formalizing and standard¬
izing the text. The Dao^ang edition, moreover contains an appendix, which
turns out to be the text of the Dingguan jing, a work in verse that also survives
separately with extensive commentary. This text, next, contains the outline of a
series of “five phases” of achieving mental concentration and “seven stages” of

Discussion

attaining various levels of bodily sublimation and eventually immortality. These
form the core of the Cunshen lianqi tning, a text otherwise dedicated to medita¬
tion practice and associated with Sun Simiao of the seventh century.

Beyond these four closely interrelated core texts, the Tianjin ty is commonly
linked with Sima Chengzhen, contains a concise description of 3 uowang , and
provides a comprehensive outline of eight sections of the Daoist path which
nicely supplements the Zuowang lun itself. The Neiguan jing dated to the seventh
century and probably the oldest source in the group, claims to be revealed by
Lord Lao—central Daoist deity at the time and widely venerated throughout
the empire—and outlines the proper vision of the human body with its various
energies and spirit entities. It adds a dimension of detail to the otherwise more
general transformative vision, enhancing our understanding of how Daoists
viewed the human body and mind at the time.

The Wuchujing, both in its verses and commentary full of the same vocabulary
and extremely subtle in its approach to human mind and perfection, serves to
enhance the wider cosmic perspective of the practice. Linked with Yin Yin, it is
placed right in the time of the original creation of the Zuowang lun and addresses
much the same audience. Wu Yun’s essay on “Mind and Eyes,” the 'Kinmu lun ,
finally allows a glimpse of the more poetic and literary interpretation of the
interior agents and dynamics of the human body, a vision of meditative attain¬
ment in powerful parables and metaphors.

While all these texts are thus close in authorship, time of origin, perspective,
and content, they each have their own unique history and complex textuality.
Existing in various editions, dated differently by scholars, and studied under
multiple auspices, they deserve to be considered carefully one by one.

Zuowang lun

The Zuowang lun outlines a gradual progress to immortality in seven steps. Prac¬
titioners begin with “Respect and Faith,” i.e., they have to have heard of the
practice, believe that its promises are real, and trust that they have the capacity
and energy to attain them. Next, they work on “Interception of Karma,” which
in essence means detaching themselves from society and, at least for a practice
period, withdraw from ordinary life.

Third, they dedicate themselves to “Taming the Mind,” which means the estab¬
lishment of access concentration with the help of breath observation combined
with an increased awareness of just how jumpy and fickle the ordinary mind is.
Next, “Detachment from Affairs” sees the first conscious turning away from
tilings, an initial level of forgetfulness, where one can let go of worldly

Main Texts

achievements which are now merely “superfluous gratifications of passions and
desires.”

Step five is called “Perfect Observation.” Integrating the basic tenets of insight
meditation, it leads practitioners to a reorientation within self and world, gain¬
ing a deeper appreciation of the workings of karma, letting go of attachments
to body and self, and increasingly overcoming dualistic evaluations and value
judgments. It sees the completion of the first state of oblivion, closely followed
by tire second, a deep trance state called “Stability of Cosmic Peace.” Here even
the inner agent that gave rise to the various mental states is actively forgotten.
Practitioners find themselves in deep, stable serenity, a restfulness within that
needs no stimulation or outer action, but is at the same time accompanied by a
radiant heavenly light, the pure energy of the Dao shining through, the power
of penetrating wisdom and sign of enlightenment.

Finally, in the last step called “Attaining Dao,” adepts realize oneness with
Heaven and Earth, a life as long as the universe, and various spiritual powers.
As perfected beings they can live among fellow men and spread die purity of
the Dao by just being themselves; or they can ascend spiritually to the heavens
where diey take up residence among the immortals

The Zuowang lun survives in two main editions: one appears in the Yunji qiqian
of die year 1019 (ch. 94) as well as in the Quan Tang wen by Dong Gao

IfP. dated to 1819 (ch. 924). The other is in the Daoist canon (DZ 1036) and
can also be found in the Dao^angjiyao jllliitS'ic (Collected Essentials of the
Daoist Canon, Maoji 5.39a51a). 1 It has both a preface and an appendix not
found in the oilier version.

The preface claims to be by a certain recluse or retired scholar called Zhenjing
jfCjfi? and is dated to a dingwei year. There is the slight possibility that the charac¬
ters for Zhenjing, which occur only once in the text, are an error for Jingzhen,
which would mean that the author of this preface is one of Sima Chengzhen’s
foremost disciples, Jiao Jingzhen |£jf§l]pC. If the edition was indeed put together
by her, the year would refer to 767. However, not only is the probability of a
mistake in the name of the editor very slight, but there are also indications that
the relationship of the editor to the author was not of a very close personal
nature. Sima Chengzhen is called by his posthumous name Master Zhenyi, and
it is explicitly mentioned diat he was of the Tang dynasty. Moreover die preface

1 This compilation was first published during the jiaqing reign (1796-1820), consisting
of 173 texts, all from the Ming-dynasty canon, and probably compiled by Jiang Yupu HfTp'
ffi (1755-1819), a central figure in a spirit-writing group based at the Altar of Awakening in
Chengdu. It was republished several times, most recendy in 1906, with more texts added, so
that it contains today 287 works. For indexes, see Chen 1987; Komjathy 2002. For ongoing
research on the collection, see Esposito 2009.

Discussion

mentions that the Zuowang lun was then printed. Printing becoming common
only in the following centuries (Goodrich 1925, 41), this makes such an early
date unlikely.

The Zuowang lun by Sima Chengzhen is first mentioned in the bibliographical
chapter of the Tangshu as consisting of one juan. Ouyang Fei in his Jigu

lumu (Catalogue of Collected Ancient Inscriptions; see Hervouet 1978,

199) of the year 1069 gives the text of a stele inscription merely mentioning the
title Zuowang lun and naming a Baiyun xiansheng E=J If (Master White
Clouds) as the author (5.5a). As the stele was placed before Sima Chengzhen’s
temple, the rather common title Master White Clouds in this case probably
refers to him.

Another mention of the Zuowang lun is found in Wu Zeng’s Nenggai %hai-
man lu (Revised Record of Zhaiman) of 1157 (Hervouet 1978,

290). 2 According to this, Sima Chengzhen received the teachings of Master
Tianyinzi from Wu Yun and rephrased them to produce a text on mystical at¬
tainment, later called Zuowang lun (5.42ab). Wu Zeng cites several passages from
this, but they do in fact come from die appendix, the Dingguanjing , rather than
from the Zuowang lun proper. He also notes that these references go ultimately
back to Hong Xingzu (1019-1155) and that they are not from the

Zuowang lun. In conclusion he remarks that, since his seniors exchanged a pas¬
sage from the Dingguan jing with one from the Zuowang lun, the latter must have
originally been based on it.

Zeng Zao’s Daoshu of 1151 contains a lengthy section under heading “Sitting in
Oblivion” (2.2b-4a). It cites the Dingguan jing includes the Tianyimj, and con¬
tains a summary of die Zuowang lun which turns out to be very close to the text
of the inscription of 829. In other words, by the middle of the twelfth century,
the three key texts on oblivion in the Tang were closely connected if not actu¬
ally conflated in die minds of scholars and collections.

This inscription, while containing much of the same information, is by no
means identical with the Zuowang lun in seven sections. It compounds the com¬
plexity of the textual transmission and questions of authorship since it men¬
tions a text entitled Zuowanglun written by a certain Zhao Jian iHM (Wu 1981,
47a). Serious questions as to who wrote the Zuowanglun were also posed by Lu
You in his Weinan wenji (Collected Works of Master Weinan;

Hervouet 1978, 418). In one of the fifty-eight postscripts contained in this col¬
lection, he mentions that he himself saw a Zuowang lun stele on Mount Lu. He

2 Before Wu Zeng, there are two other mentions of the text, in Chao Buzhi’s jULffi
(11 th c.) Jile ji Hljji/jtl (Chicken Bone Collection) and in Ye Mengde’s ljl|lP|l§-(l077-1148)
Yujian %ashu (Miscellaneous Writings from jade Creek; Wu 1981, 46a).

Main Texts

describes its text as consisting of eight sections and notices that such a text was
written by Zhao Jian who, being Sima’s senior, must thus have been the true
author of the text (28.14b-15a).

The Zuowang lun in seven sections plus an appendix is mentioned by Chen
Zhensun (1190-1249) in his Zhi^hai sbulujieti (Explana¬

tory Comments on Books and Records in the Studio of Uprightness; see
Hervouet 1978 198; 9.23a). Around the same time, Chao Gongwu a ^ so

refers to it in his Jun^hai dushu %hi KKifllllrlS (Record of Readings in the Pro¬
vincial Studio; Loon 1984, 109; 34a). Similarly Ma Duanlin Sri): B8 in his
Wenxian tongkao bt ^ (Pervasive Examination of Literary Offerings;
Hervouet 1978, 174; ch. 225) speaks of a Zuowang lun by Sima Chengzhen in
seven sections. He mentions a postface to the text by Wenyuan gong
i.e., Chao Jiong HiM of the early Song. This would imply that the text existed
in the tenth century.

1 have not been able to locate this particular postface. From the information
gathered so far, however, it has become clear that there were possibly as many
as three different texts with the title Zuowang Imv. the text contained in the Dao-
ist canon and the Yunji qiqiaw, its appendix, transmitted separately under the
title Dingguanjing, and the inscription. All three date from the late Tang, share a
basic concern for Daoist immortal transformation, and present a system di¬
vided into stages of gradual refinement, leading from ordinary consciousness to
a mind unified with Dao.

Inscription on Oblivion

The inscription is the shortest of the three texts and the one most precisely
dated (ed. Wu 1981; Chen et al. 1988, 176). It is well connected with other texts
of the period. Like tire Zuowang lun , it outlines the fundamental steps to oneness
with Dao, i.e., the recognition of the delusions that make up everyday con¬
sciousness, the attainment of a concentrated mind, the arising of insight, and
the finding of oneness with Dao. Like the Dingguanjing, it mentions the gradual
refinement from body through qi and spirit to union with Dao. Like Wu Yun’s
Shenxian kexue lun , it relies on the Yijing and makes allusions to alchemical prac¬
tice.

As noted in the Jigu lumu (5.5a), it was engraved in 829 by the Daoists Liu Ning-
ran $/Pi§l and Zhao Jingyuan IHJpiTC on Mount Wangwu, where Sima
Chengzhen spent the later part of his life (Wu 1981, 46a; Robinet in Schipper
and Verellen 2004, 307). The old Wangwu, says Ding Shaoji in his

Qiushi sjiai beiba (Postface to Inscriptions of the Studio for Pursu¬

ing Rightness; 3.12b), is today in Jiyuan District in northwestern Henan. This is

Discussion

the place where Gu Xieguang of the Ming also found the stele, located

in front of the Ziwei gong (Temple of Purple Tenuity). He describes it

under the title “Stele of the Ancestral Temple of Master Zhenyi” in his Heshuo
xin beimu 1=1 (Catalogue of New Inscriptions from Heshuo; 3.12a).

The place is on the northwestern border of present-day Henan, almost directly
north of Luoyang, still under the name of Jiyuan.

The text of the inscription was written by Zhang Hongming 5U(2(0f|, a Daoist
of Wangwu. Its contents was brought there by a certain Mr. Xu other¬

wise unknown (Wu 1981, 47a). He received it on Mount Tongbo, where Sima
Chengzhen’s teaching seems to have been transmitted orally. According to the
text of the inscription, Sima Chengzhen once met the Daoist Zhao Jian who
had written a treatise on “sitting in oblivion” in seven sections. However, this
treatise was so carefully phrased that people would forget their practice of
oblivion and rather become absorbed in the beauty and sophistication of die
text. Sima criticizes this treatise sharply.

It appears, furthermore, that there was a work on %uowang by Wu Yun, who
supposedly gave Sima the teachings contained in the Tianjin%i. There is indeed
a Zuowang lun by Wu Yun mentioned in a catalogue of books lost in the imperial
libraries compiled in the Southern Song (Loon 1984, 109). Moreover, there is a
fair amount of overlap between the Zuowang lun inscription and Wu’s Shenxian
kexue lun. Although not explicitly mentioned as a disciple of Sima Chengzhen,
he certainly moved in the same circles and was very likely part of a living oral
tradition of Sima Chengzhen’s teachings in the Tiantai mountains.

To sum up, several treatises on “sitting in oblivion” seem to have circulated in
the eighth century: by Zhao Jian, Wu Yun, and Sima Chengzhen. While Wu
Yun’s was lost early, the work of Zhao Jian was still known under the Song, but
today only Sima’s work survives.

Dingguanjing

Another candidate for an early Zuowang lun is the Dingguan jing which appears
three times in the Daoist Canon: as appendix to the Zuowang lun, as a separate
text (DZ 400), and sharing the same chapter with the Neiguan jing in the Yunji
qiqian (1.6b-13a). 3 Called by its full title Dongxuan lingbao dingguan jing^hu or
“Scripture on Stability and Observation of the Mystery Cavern of Numinous
Treasure, With Commentary,” it is a short but powerful document consisting

3 For a general discussion and dating, see Schipper in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 332).
He translated dingguan, in adaptation of Buddhist samadhi as “Intent Contemplation.”

Main Texts

of forty-nine stanzas of two or more lines, each with four or occasionally six
characters. It presents a survey of the mental transition from an ordinary per¬
spective, characterized by impurity, cravings, vexations, emotions, and desires,
to a state of mental stability, peace, and quietude. Once stability (ding /Ei) is
reached, the mind will observe (guan Hi) all dispassionately and gain the neces¬
sary insight that will take one to immortality.

The development of the mind is outlined in five phases, the immortalization of
the body in seven stages. This system repeats the pattern described by Sun
Simiao in his Cunshen lianqi ming. In addition, the text is noteworthy for its prac¬
tical details concerning the various mental states the adept undergoes when
passing through the process of attainment. Throughout, purity and total ab¬
stention from intentional thinking and acting are emphasized.

While the editions in the Daoist canon and the Yunji qiqian show only minor
variation in characters, the Zuowang lun appendix version adds two sections: a
paragraph reviewing the fundamental concepts of the Zuowang lun inserted after
about the first third of the text; and a list of the five phases of the mind before
the seven stages of the body Neither section is phrased in the same verse-like
pattern as the remainder of the text, nor does it have commentary, with only a
few extra words supplemented to its citation in the Daoshu (2.2b-4a).

The Dingguan jing seems to have been a highly popular text. A concise synopsis,
which substitutes “quietude” (jing jf§?) for “stability” ( ding ), appears under the
title Guanmiaojing (DZ 326), dividing into three parts: 1. an initial section con¬
taining a short synopsis of the basic practical instructions of the text which yet
leaves out four lines dealing with the ordinary mind and the initial difficulties of
mental concentration; 2. paragraph similar to the Zuoivanglun in that the arising
of the heavenly light is mentioned yet also like the Cunshen lianqi ming 'm that it
emphasizes tire non-active way of attainment plus a summary of the central
section of the Dingguan jing, 3. a final section which includes the five phases of
the mind and die seven stages of the body.

Anodier indication of the text’s popularity is its frequent citations. The earliest
appears in the commentary to two mystical poems collected under the title
Xuansjm xinjing %hu 3^; L'tst£ (Annotated Mysterious Pearly Mirror of die
Mind, DZ 574; Reiter in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 300-01; Kohn 1989a),
which were published with commentary on Mount Wangwu, the former resi¬
dence of Sima Chengzhen, in 817. The poems go back to a revelation by Jiao
Shaoxuan the wife of Lu Chui Jg|]§|, located in Fujian. Originally an

immortal from the heaven of Highest Clarity, she departed diis world, leaving
behind only an empty coffin. Her husband implored her to give him some in¬
structions regarding Daoist attainment; in response she returned to eardi and
revealed the poems. The first poem speaks of the restraint needed to guard the
One:

Discussion

Attainment of the primordial power of the One
Is not a gift from Heaven.

Realization of great nonbeing
Is the state of highest immortality.

Light restrained, a hidden brilliance, the body one with nature:

There is true peace, won but not pursued.

Spirit kept forever at rest.

In serenity and beauty: this is true being!

Body and inner nature, hard and soft
All is but cinnabar vapor, azure barrens.

One of the highest sages—

Only after a hundred years
The tomb is discovered empty.

The second poem has:

The Dao is nonaction, yet nothing is left undone.

Purity of mind does not come from knowledge and wisdom.

What is knowledge? What is purity?

Knowledge is to give up all wisdom. Purity is to be empty in going along.

Going along, not following: this is pervasion of mind.

Pervade the One and all affairs are done!

The One is the root, affairs are the gate.

When affairs return to the One, the One is always there.

The commentary cites die Dingguan jing twice. First the exhortation to observe
widt proper awareness and to never abandon the radiating mind in the first part
of the text is used to explain the line: “The Dao is nonaction,” pointing out the
need to immediately eradicate whatever thought arises (DZ 574, 6b). Second,
commentary to the last line of the first poem refers to the Dingguanjing saying,
“Guard emptiness and nonbeing and naturally you will live forever,” then lists
the five phases of the mind and seven stages of the body in explanation of the
process (9b-10b).

The text as cited in the Xuan^hu xinjing %hu is close to Sun Simiao’s version of
the five phases and the seven stages, allowing die conclusion that the Cunshen
lianqi ming circulated among die same practitioners as the other texts. In the
added section, moreover, the independent will of the individual is emphasized
more strongly than is common in such texts. Similarly, this version notes that
later the body-self rather than the body-form is the basis for refinement to qi.

Another prominent reference to the Dingguan jing is found in Du Guangting’s
Guangshengji, where he uses the text to elucidate the meaning of Daodejing 79,

Main Texts

especially to the line: “Therefore the sage keeps his left-hand portion [of a con¬
tract] and does not blame the other party.” Du interprets “left-hand portion” to
refer to the mind, while he sees the passage as a whole concerning the sages’
transmission of the true doctrine. He describes die nature of the sage as having
permanent control over the mind while trying to reform odiers. He then illus¬
trates die quality and development of the sagely mind by citing the Dingguanjing
(49.8b). He also substitutes “sage” for “perfected” in the description of the
final realization, a variant that also appears in the Dadao lun (15b-16b).

Last but not least, the Dingguanjingis cited in the Zhu^hen neidanjijao !itj|Cp3j 3 ]'
Itlic (DZ 1258; see Reiter in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 1185), a Yuan-
dynasty text on internal alchemy, to illustrate the process of introspective ob¬
servation. The work uses the exhortation to practice diligently day and night
and only get rid of the agitated mind in the beginning of the text with a variant
commentary. In addition, the final realization of the adept, described as “Never
being not alive, never being not changing” (5a), is explained by reference to the
last three stages of the mind.

Cunshen lianc^i ming

A forerunner of Sima Chengzhen’s Zuon’ang lun and a key source for the five
phases and seven stages appears in the Cunshen lianqi ming (DZ 834, YQ 33.12a-
14b) of Sun Simiao, his senior and almost contemporary. The text, which may
have been collated and attributed to Sun Simiao later (Levi in Schipper and
Verellen 2004, 375), closely relates to his Zhenglmigji and is grouped together
with it in the Yunji qiqian. In both outlook and contents it is very close to the
other meditation works of the eighth century.

Beyond the more specialized focus of the Zuon’ang lun , Sun here not only gives a
practical method for taming the mind, i.e., focusing one’s entire attention on
the Ocean of Qi in the lower elixir field, but also emphasizes the need for
physical preparation by means of fasting before one can begin meditating. He
says: “If you want to learn the technique of refinement of qi you first of all
have to refrain from eating grains” (lab). Then, by means of focusing one’s
attention on the abdomen one will attain control over the mind as well as a
feeling of natural satiation. Sun Simiao explains these preliminaries as “die cul¬
tivation of one-pointedness” and divides diem into a minor cycle of one hun¬
dred and a major cycle of two hundred days. By this process, he claims, the
body will spontaneously fall into a harmonious rhythm with nature, and “when
one must eat, one eats, when rest is required, one rests. Thus one lives forever
in freedom and without obstruction.”

Daoist meditation can therefore be seen as structured according to the diree
fundamental levels of body, i.e., preliminary purification, mind, i.e., the actual

Discussion

practice of sitting in oblivion, and Dao, i.e., the spontaneous stages of the body
once the mind is fully controlled and has attained serenity. These three funda¬
mental levels are in turn divided. Bodily purification, as Sun points out, has a
minor and a major cycle. Taming tire mind is divided into five phases, and the
final realization of bodily union with Dao takes place in seven stages.

Tianyinzi

Another text that places %uowang into a larger context and is closely related to
Sima Chengzhen is the Tianyingi, the “Book of the Master of Heavenly Seclu¬
sion,” an otherwise rather obscure master. 4 In content, it divides into eight sec¬
tions, beginning with a general outline of the ideal of “spirit immortality,” pre¬
senting tire same theoretical framework as found in the Zuowang lun. Next, it
emphasizes the basic attitude of “simplicity,” again echoing the other medita¬
tion texts, then it prescribes the “gradual progress toward Dao,” strongly warn¬
ing against overeager expectations and “suddenness.”

This progress, then, divides into five levels which constitute the remaining sec¬
tions of the text. The first is “fasting and abstention,” the physical foundation
of meditation, echoing Sun’s admonition to practice abstention from grains.
Next comes “seclusion,” which details the lay-out of the quite chamber and
matches Sima’s second section on leaving society and “intercepting karma.”
Third, “visualization and imagination” describes basic methods of concentra¬
tion and inner observation, echoing the “taming of the mind” section of the
Zuowang lun as much as the Neiguan jing and the 'Kinmu lun. “Sitting in oblivion”
is tire title of the fourth section. It cites the original Zhuang^i passage and
stresses tire need to make the mind unmoving. The process culminates, fifth, in
“spirit liberation,” marked by liberation into Dao and the attainment of magical
powers.

The text is contained in DZ 1026, but has been edited many times both in
Daoist and secular collections (Kohn 1987b, 4). Its edition was fully established
in the Song and has remained standardized, with only two variants (in the
Daoshu and in the Congshu jicheng, Kohn 1987b, 5) and an introductory section
added later (Loon 1984, 84). As regards die audiorship of the text, die common
view was first that the Master of Heavenly Seclusion was a mysterious figure
whose teachings Sima Chengzhen adopted and summarized. An alternative
arose in 1162, when Hu Lian wrote a postface to the text ( Shuofu 75), in
which he first praises Sima’s mystical attainments, then cites a poem by Su

4 An extensive discussion and translation of the text appears in Kohn 1987b. It is also
transated in Komjathy 2008, #9; examined by Robinet in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 303.

Main Texts

Dongpo jUjfCfjit which mentions a work in eight sections on “quietude, nonac¬
tion, oblivion, and radiance.” As the number of sections matches those in the
Tianyin^i, Hu concludes that Su is speaking of the Tianjin as written by Sima
Chengzhen himself, reaching the hypothesis that he actually wrote the text and
only attributed it to die legendary master (Kohn 1987b, 4). This vision of the
text was duly adopted by other scholars, becoming a popular alternative to the
earlier view.

Another postface to die text, which does not appear until Ming editions, claims
to be by Sima himself. Upon receiving the text, it says, he first recited it for
diree years, then gradually practiced according to its instructions with good
results: “1 awakened to the peace of body and mind and realized the insignifi¬
cance of fame and profit.” After diree more years, Tianyinzi himself appeared
to him and gave him oral instructions on how to practice the meditation meth¬
ods. A further practice round of diree years, then, should allow the adept to
“feel purity and harmony in the body,” eventually reaching a point when “the
Dao of immortality is no longer hard to attain” (Kohn 1987b, 5).

The Tianyinzi- —besides being reprinted in numerous collections—with its eight-
step outline has remained a major mainstay for practitioners of bodi meditation
and qigong to the present day. It forms part of the modern compilation Qigong
jangsheng congshu Ijl,5tllii3ii8illr (Collected Works on Qigong and Nourishing
Life, Shanghai 1999), on par with a number of classical works on internal al¬
chemy and some more recent treatises on meditation (see Komjathy 2002,106).

Neiguanjing

The Neiguan jing, on the other hand, is placed in the mouth of Lord Lao. Extant
in two editions that are very close to each odier (DZ 641; YQ 17.1a-6b) It con¬
sists of thirteen paragraphs of differing length and deals with the spiritual and
psychological makeup of humanity, encouraging inner observation of the body
gods from a state of stability and quietude, emptiness and serenity. More fo¬
cused on the human body, it explains it in terms of the five phases and inner
organs, but also through the divinities and internal passageways described in
early medieval texts on Daoist visualization. It defines psychological terms,
then integrates the Daoist system with Buddhist conceptions of consciousness,
ego, and the senses. Following this, die text outlines the way of internal purifi¬
cation and concludes with the statement that “there is no teaching to transmit
or receive, thus there is notliing that is not ultimately transmitted or received”
(YQ 17.6b).

The Neiguan jing can be dated to the late sixth century, since it is cited exten¬
sively in the Chuanshou jingjie falu lueshuo (Short Exposition

of the Transmission of Scriptures, Precepts, and Registers, DZ 1241), “a survey

Discussion

of Daoist initiations and ordinations that describes admonitions, texts, oaths,
pledges, and various other aspects of the rite” (Benn in Pregadio 2008, 1237;
see also Cedzich in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 458). The text, by Zhang
Wanfu, a priest at the Taiqing guan (Monastery of Great Clarity) in

Chang’an, is dated clearly to the year 713 and is best known for its appendix
that describes the formal ordination of two Tang princesses to the priestly rank
of Numinous Treasure (see Benn 1991; Schipper 1985,129-31).

It cites the Neiguan jing in its second chapter in a section that deals generally
with internal deities and their cultivation (2. 5b-7a; Schipper in Schipper and
Verellen 2004, 500). Using the text in its Yunji qiqian version, it presents parts
of the first two sections (2ab, 3b-4b) as well as excerpts from the last three
paragraphs (5b-6a), thus creating a comprehensive summary of the meditation
work. Another, later citation of the Neiguan jing, appears in the Song treatise
Dadao lun , in the section on “Mind Practice” (17b), referring to the nature of
the mind.

Wuchujing

The full title of this text is Lao^i shuo Wuchujing (Scripture of the

Five Kitchens as Revealed by Lord Lao, DZ 763). Edited and commented by
Yin Yin in the early eighth century (Mollier 2000, 62), and presented to the
court in 736 (Verellen in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 351), it was also inter¬
preted by the Celestial Master Zhao Xianfu in the late Tang and the

focus of a miracle described by Du Guangting in his Daojiao lingyan ji ifTlMfBI?
gB (Record of Daoist Miracles, DZ 590; Verellen 1992, 250-51). A variant ver¬
sion appears in YQ 61.5b-10b under die title Wuchujing qifa EfilSMtizA (En¬
ergetic Methods of the Scripture of the Five Kitchens). The methods of the
text are advocated further in Sima Chengzhen’s Fuqijingyi lun (DZ 277, 9b-10a;
YQ 57.10-1 lb); they have matching versions in esoteric Buddhist sutras of the
same period (see Mollier 2000; 2008).

In content, the Wuchu jing is a highly abstract mystical poem in twenty verses
which guides adepts toward a mental state of detachment, non-thinking, and
equanimous perception by cultivating the energy of universal oneness (yiqi —IK)
and merging with cosmic peace and harmony ( taihe ^^U). This will lead to
complete physical satisfaction: “The five organs are abundant and full; the five
spirits are tranquil and upright.” This in turn, means that all sensory experi¬
ences are calmed and all cravings and desires eliminated—including those for
food and drink.

Main Texts

The text is dedicated to the five organs. Cosmologically the five organs ( wu^ang
TlSH) match the five phases (wuxing $§£fr) and determine the horizontal struc¬
ture of the universe, while the three elixir fields (sail dantian cEbBFEH) match the
three forces (sancai Heaven, Earth, Humanity) and create the vertical pil¬
lar of the world. Within this scheme, the Five Kitchens (wuchu SJfJ) refer to
human ^/-processing on a subde-body level, signifying the yin or horizontal
structure and complementing the Triple Heater (sanjiao EE'M), a set of three
transformative or yang organs that rest vertically between chest and abdomen.
In other words, the Five Kitchens signify the energetic, transformative power
of the five organs, both on the physical and spiritual levels.

Despite this concern with the body, the work strongly emphasizes mental re¬
structuring over bodily practices, in fact saying that “accumulating cultivation
will not get you to detachment” and that methods of ingestion are ultimately
useless. On tire other hand, the recitation of the scripture is beneficial, espe¬
cially if combined with intellectual, mental, and ethical practices, so that “you
will easily get the true essentials of cultivating the body-self and protecting life.”
More specifically, chanting the text one hundred times and practicing the har¬
monization of the five qi allows adepts to abstain from grain and eliminate
hunger (Mollier 2000, 62-63).

This feature of the text as a talismanic work to be chanted for protection makes
it a popular scripture even today. It still appears as a recited work in various
Daoist temples, where its text is being distributed on flyers—such as the one I
picked up at the City God Temple in Shanghai—showing die more devotional
dimension of meditation in a contemporary light

Xinmu lun

Wu Yun’s essay on “Mind and Eyes” is a brief exposition that creates an imagi¬
nary dialogue between the eyes, the senses’ foremost representative, and the
mind, the seat of the spirit in the human body and ruler of all sensory functions.
The text appears twice, in almost identical editions, in die Daoist canon, once
among Tang-dynasty essays on Daoist mysticism (DZ 1038) and once in Wu
Yun’s collected works (DZ 1051, 2.16b-19b).

It can be divided into an introduction and five sections of dialogue that lead
from the recognition of the basic problem to the mind’s attainment of Dao.
The introduction sets the scene and explains the inherent opposition of mind
and eyes. The dialogue part begins with the mind accusing die eyes and their
undisciplined activity of causing its confused and agitated states. The eyes
counter this accusation by placing the responsibility for order within the body
squarely on the mind, who after all is the ruler of the senses and thus causes
whatever erratic actions they exhibit.

Discussion

Next, the mind responds to this, showing itself deeply moved, and develops a
new resolution by envisioning itself as a flying immortal and entering the celes¬
tial spheres in joint cooperation with the senses. The eyes, however, counter yet
again. They agree that the basic intention of the mind is sound but also make it
clear that more is needed than just a vision of immortality, however enchanting
it may be. They cite the examples of various sages to bolster their argument,
teaching the mind that it must actively work for emptiness and vacuity, search
to attain forgetfulness and serenity.

In the last section of the text, the mind finally comes to change its fundamental
attitude. It eases up on thoughts and does away with hesitations and insecurity,
reaching a state of oblivion and thereby attaining clarity and liberation. The
mind ends the dialogue with a delightful chant on the intensity of liberation and
the joys of non-sensory existence.

Chapter Five

The Integrated System

These core texts document sitting in oblivion as a complex system of medita¬
tion, outlining a series of procedures leading to inner peace, cosmic perfection,
and oneness with Dao. Addressed to a general audience and members of secu¬
lar society, the system centers on Sima Chengzhen’s Zuowang lun and the seven
steps it describes, the other documents adding more details in terms of precise
methods to follow and mental states to pursue or eliminate. In addition, some
works, such as the Dingguanjing and Cunshen lianqi ming as well as Wu Yun’s ec¬
static poems and Xingshen kegu lun , illuminate advanced states while others, such
as die Tianyin^i and related Tang works outline details of the foundational work
necessary for successful practice.

All the documents make it clear that the advance is gradual, but the Tianjin^i
spells it out most clearly. It patterns the main stages of practice on the hexa¬
gram Jian if, “Gradual Progress” of the Yijing (no. 53). Here the six lines are
metaphors for the flight of the wild geese. After a preliminary first approach to
the shore, the second line represents their initial sitting on the rocks, i.e., find¬
ing a secure position. Next, they fly off to die plains, but this is too far off civi¬
lization, so in the following step (line 4) diey fly to a group of trees where they
can take rest. Thereafter they reach a high mound, a peak, to finally soar off to
the vastness of the skies above (Wilhelm 1950, 204; Kohn 1987b, 9).

Matching this outline, adepts ready diemselves for their endeavor by develop¬
ing the right attitude and undergoing various forms of physical preparation.
Second, they “sit on the rocks,” i.e., establish the organizational set-up and
physical preparations that facilitate practice. Next they engage in various forms
of meditation, beginning usually with concentration and moving on to observa¬
tion, which may come in the form of visualization or as detached insight. They
reach out and move into new and exciting states but often find themselves too

Discussion

far off. Eventually they find a way of practicing that allows them to get a firm
foothold in Dao, like the geese resting on the trees. Their peak is reached when
they find the state of sitting in oblivion, also called the stability of cosmic peace.
From there they soar off into a state of spirit pervasion which signifies the ul¬
timate attainment.

Fundamental Attitudes

The Zuowang lun begins its discussion with the necessity to develop “Respect
and Faith’’ (sect. 1), which means that to set out for the ascent to Dao one
must first of all have heard about such tilings as sitting in oblivion and believe
that it is possible to reach a state of mind free from all distinctions which will
lead to oneness with Dao. One must trust in Dao and have a deep respect for
the teaching. Paraphrasing the classical Zhuang^i passage, one must accept that
“sitting in oblivion means the annihilation of the myriad states of mental pro¬
jections” and have faith in the process as taught by die masters.

Along the same lines, the Tianjin%i begins its presentation with a general over¬
view of “spirit immortality,” defined as “settling the spirit within and letting its
radiance shine widiout.” It emphasizes the need to turn away from the seven
emotions (joy, anger, sadness, happiness, love, hate, and desires) while working
to eliminate the eight excesses of qi (wind, damp, cold, heat, hunger, satiation,
labor, and idleness) (sect. 1). It then insists that the path is essentially simple
and gradual, requesting that adepts put their trust in teachings diat are straight¬
forward and practical and eschew any expectations to rise up into the clouds in
one swift motion (sect. 2-3).

The initial request for faith and trust in these texts closely reflects the funda¬
mental requirement Sun Simiao formulates in his Zhen^hongji, i.e., a sense of
“prudence” (jishen |=[fj|) rooted in an attitude of “awe and care” ( youwei |lgl|).
In this he follows the Shenxian shiqi jin’gui miaolu (Won¬

drous Record from the Golden Casket on the Spirit Immortals’ Practice of
Eating Oi , DZ 836), ascribed to Master Jingli jjCM who supposedly lived in tire
fourth century. The text may be a Tang compilation but in contents predates
the Sui (Loon 1984,130; Levi in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 355).

Both insist that progress begins with awe and care which encourages moral
actions and virtuous thoughts. “Awe and care are the gateway of life and death,
the key to rites and good teaching, the cause of existing and perishing, the root
of good and bad fortune, as well as the prime source of all auspicious and in¬
auspicious conditions.” They assure that sons have filial devotion, parents have
kindness, ministers have merit, and mlers preserve peace (Engelhardt 1989,
280). If lost, “the mind will be confused and not cultivated, the body will be

The Integrated System

restless and not at peace, the spirit will be scattered, the qi will go beyond all
bounds, and will and intention will be deluded” (Jin’gui lu 14b; Zhen^hongji lb).
In other words, respect and faith, awe and care are prime conditions allowing
the mind to become calm and focused. They also set the person up for moral
integrity, expressed in the Zhen^hongji as a series of prohibitions and precepts
like those typically associated with Daoist practice (Engelhardt 1989, 283-85).

Echoing this and clarifying exacdy what kind of “faith” Sima may have had in
mind, Wu Yun in his Shenxian kexue lun requires seven positive attitudes when
working with Dao and outlines seven potential hindrances. The first wrong
attitude is the obviously Buddhist idea that “life is an illusion” and that body
and spirit are mere ephemeral phenomena; rather, they are the storehouse of
inner nature and need to be seriously cultivated. Second is the erroneous idea
that immortality literally means never to die; rather it means that one returns to
one’s origins in Dao and spiritually co-exists with Heaven and Earth, reaching a
state where physical death has become negligible (De Meyer 2006, 296). Third,
people are guided away from true attainment by “foreknowledge,” the belief in
reincarnation and specific visions of the afterlife, hoping for a better existence
beyond the world when all efforts should be directed to the here and now.

A fourth hindrance to attainment is the lure of material wealth and physical
pleasures, “to think of official carriages and ceremonial caps as sources of satis¬
faction, to consider achievement and fame imperishable, to find pleasure in sex
and indulge in music, to wear fancy clothing and crave delicious food” (De
Meyer 2006, 299). Fifth is the pursuit of long life with the only goal of continu¬
ing indulgence; sixth, the dabbling in operational alchemy and search for me¬
dicinal substances instead of doing the interior work; and seventh, the adoption
of priestly rank and status for mundane motives and worldly goals (2006, 300).

As regards the seven positive attitudes, they are modes of behavior and states
of mind that each serve as a preparatory stage for the real work, “elements that
bring one closer to the path leading to immortality” (2006, 303). They include:

—having few desires and taking pleasure in the mysterious void;

—controlling emotions and cultivating purity;

—fulfilling one’s duties with moral integrity;

—letting go of possessions and taking things easy;

—committing to honesty and finding quietude;

—releasing past errors and doing good;

—behaving virtuously and with rectitude. (De Meyer 2006, 303-06)

To sum up, before one can even begin the first step of practice, one’s attitude
has to be correct, one has to have firm roots in moral integrity, and one needs
to find an inner distance to the pleasures and pursuits of the world—thus set¬
ting one’s intention firmly on Dao.

Discussion

Establishing Distance

Having found the correct fundamental attitude, one next must establish physi¬
cal distance to the common world to create a space in which inner peace can
flourish without distraction. The Zuowang lun calls this “Interception of Karma”
(sect. 2), saying that “free from affairs and in peaceful leisure, one can finally
cultivate Dao.” The inscription, not quite as explicit on this point, also empha¬
sizes the need for “placidity and freedom from desires.” The Dingguanjing in its
appendix version outlines three initial “precepts” of leaving affairs: detachment
from karmic conditions, freedom from desires, and stillness of mind.

Already the Daode jing makes this point: “Cut off all contact, shut the doors, and
to the end of life there will be peace without toil” (ch. 52). Sima sees the mean¬
ing of these lines as referring to people’s relation to society and business, add¬
ing a passage from the Zhuangej : “Don’t be an embodier of fame, don’t be a
storehouse of schemes, don’t be an undertaker of projects, don’t be a proprie¬
tor of wisdom” (ch. 7). Both, Guo Xiang and Cheng Xuanying agree that these
lines mean that it is much better to leave affairs to take care of themselves than
to meddle with them. Cheng sees the problem slightly more psychologically
than Guo Xiang who never tires of emphasizing that it is most of all necessary
to forget oneself and spontaneously go along with the nature (DZ 745, 9.20b)

Sima’s reading of the Daode jing lines in terms of social activities is not common
among commentators. Rather, they tend to see their meaning in terms of spiri¬
tual practice. Thus Heshang gong takes dui ffc, here given as “contacts,” to
mean the eyes, whereas men Pd, “doors,” refer to the mouth. He says: “Eyes and
mouth should not see or speak anything false, then the body will not be la¬
bored” (DZ 683, 3.12a). Similarly Wang Bi interprets “contacts” as the origin
of desires, whereas “doors” for him means die actions undertaken on the basis
of desires and passions. The passage thus comes to refer to the state of free¬
dom from desires as the foundation of salvation (DZ 707, 7.23b-24a).

Xuanzong of the Tang follows along these lines, too, but adds the aspect of
seeing dui as le HI, “pleasure,” which arises tiirough the six senses and their
being deluded by the apparent beauty of outer tilings. The “doors” in his
commentary are the gates of the spirit dirough which it leaves people due to
the delusion caused by pleasure (7.23b). Du Guangting, in his Guangshengji
does not deviate from this line but adds a reference to Xishengjing 7: “Sight and
hearing of eyes and ears keep people in a state of imbalance. All the joys of the
senses must be given up” (2.11b).

On the whole, the requirement to establish distance from society is a practical
consequence of the precept of freedom from desires, also noted in the intro¬
duction to the Zuowang lun , which cites Daode jing 1: “Let there always be no

The Integrated System

desires so that the wondrous may be observed.” More than merely saying that
the senses are corrupting spiritual purity and that this must be prevented, Sima
Chengzhen tells his audience how to go about doing this. Creating some dis¬
tance to social interaction is thus the first active measure on the path.

The Tianyin^i sees this requirement in even more concrete terms as going into
“Seclusion” (sect. 5) by setting oneself up in a simple hut described in terms of
the oratory or quiet chamber (jingshi )ffllQ of early medieval Daoists. A single
detached building anywhere from ten to twenty square meters in size, the clas¬
sical oratory should be covered by a thatched roof, surrounded by running wa¬
ter, and protected by a wall (Yoshikawa 1987, 129). It was to be erected well
away from human activity and had to be kept in strict simplicity without any
ornamentation. As Lu Xiujing says in his Daomen kelue (Abbreviated

Rules for Daoist Followers, DZ 1127; see Schipper in Schipper and Verellen
2004,126-27):

Its outside should be separate and cut off, not connected with other
buildings. Its interior should be pure and empty, not cluttered with su¬
perfluous objects. Opening and closing the door, never recklessly bang it
or rush through it. The chamber should be sprinkled, swept, purified,
and revered. It should always be thought of as a dwelling of the spirits.
(Bumbacher 2000, 482; see also Nickerson 1996)

The oratory was thus kept extremely simple. It should not have more than four
pillars, three rafters, and two beams, and they should all be made from the
same simple, local wood, not from a variety of fancy imported timbers (Yoshi¬
kawa 1987, 129). As the Tianyin^i also notes, the ideal room should have win¬
dows to allow a maximum control of wind and light and a screen-door entrance
that could be easily moved. A wooden bench should be placed in the center,
according to one measurement given, approximately 2.5 x 1.9 meters in floor
size and 31 centimeters high. In addition, die oratory was to contain only four
tilings: an incense burner, incense lamp, table for petitions, and writing knife
(Yoshikawa 1987, 128-29; Bumbacher 2000, 481-82). Adepts should enter it
with circumspection and only after extensive purification. All actions in the
oratory should be accompanied by ritual formality and conscious awareness of
the divine (Yoshikawa 1987,140-44).

The purpose of having a separate chamber—still part of Daoist practice in die
Ming dynasty and even today (see Liu 2009; Kohn 1993b)—is to allow the
physical separation of the practice from ordinary life and to create a good bal¬
ance of yin and yang. It is desirable but not essential in the effort of intercept¬
ing karma and moving toward more focused practice.

Discussion

Physical Preparation

Another important prerequisite for the practice of sitting in oblivion is men¬
tioned in the Tianyin^i even before seclusion. “Fasting and Abstention” (sect. 4)
involves modifying one’s diet toward more fresh and organic foods; establish¬
ing a routine of moderation and the avoidance of all exertion; as well as practic¬
ing breathing, self-massages, and healing exercises to open the qi -flow in the
body and cure acute or latent diseases. In other words, it means to undertake
various physical longevity techniques to ready oneself for meditation proper. 1

The Zhen^ongji discusses this aspect both under the headings “Prohibitions”
and “Healing Exercises.” It first encourages closer alignment with Dao by ob¬
serving moral precepts, temporal taboos, and dietary regulations. 2 Besides
avoiding all lascivious and immoral acts, practitioners should be very careful on
days including the cyclical signs jia and yin which mark the time when the de¬
mons fight each other and people are given to nervous tension. In terms of
food, they should abstain from eating meat and the five pungent vegetables
(garlic and all kinds of onions), reflecting the classic demands of Daoist eating
(Kohn 2010, 79-87).

The text also advises practitioners to keep themselves and their surroundings
scrupulously clean and always maintain emotional harmony. They should move
frequently to prevent getting involved with ordinary people and to avoid deep
relationships with the opposite sex. Female adepts should not get pregnant;
male practitioners should not approach pregnant or menstruating women. Both
should strive for greater self-reliance and venerate the gods and goddesses but
not dream of engaging in sexual intercourse with them (Engelhardt 1989, 284).

All this leads to the third section on “Healing Exercises,” which specifies con¬
crete daily routines of physical movements and self-massages. It says:

When you get up in the morning, balance the qi. To do so, sit up straight
and interlace the fingers behind the neck. Face south and raise the head,
resisting this movement with your interlaced hands. Do this three or four
times. This will make your essence harmonious and open your blood ar¬
teries. By doing this you will prevent all sorts of diseases.

1 Similar methods are also found in the Zhonghuangjing 1 [ [ j.U‘f.7 (Scripture of Central
Yellow, YQ 13) and the Benqijing^fe (Scripture on the Original Arising, YQ 10), both
from the Tang period. See Eskildsen 2007.

2 Dietary regulations included avoidances of meat products, the five strong vegetables,
and various tabooed foods as well as of all processed, conserved, or fermented products. It
also involved taking herbal supplements and concoctions and undertaking advanced breath¬
ing exercises. For details, see Arthur 2006; 2009; Eskildsen 1998; Kohn 2010a.

The Integrated System

Next, [stand up and] bend the body forward, stretching all four extremi¬
ties and extending the sides by rotating to the right and left. Shake the
hundred joints. Repeat three times.

Again, when you first wake up, mb the neck, the four sections of the
face, and the ears with the soft inside of your hand, then cover the entire
area with a hot, moist towel. Next, comb your hair and massage the top
of your head for a good long time, then move both hands over the face
and the eyes, covering them for a good while. This will make your eyes
naturally bright and clear and prevent all wayward qi from accosting you.

When you are done with all this, swallow the saliva thirty times, guiding
it deep inside the body. To count the number of repetitions as you swal¬
low, maybe press your ears to the right and left. This way you won’t lose
count and at the same time prevent deafness in the ears and stuffiness in
the nose.

Always, during the time of rising, living qi swallow the saliva twenty-
seven times while pressing on any area of the body that is sore or painful.

To do so, sit down, close your eyes, and inwardly envision the five or¬
gans and six viscera. With prolonged practice you will naturally become
clear, discerning, and adept. (YQ 33.8ab; Kohn 2008a, 141; Engelhardt
1989,285)

This is a typical daoyin sequence, as first documented in medical and longevity
sources and integrated into Daoism with the inception of Highest Clarity
whose practitioners used routines such as these as preparations for advanced
practice. 3 Their most detailed account in the Tang appears in Sima’s Fuqijingyi
lun which outlines the different aspects of physical cultivation in nine steps.
According to this, one should begin by establishing a clear medical diagnosis,
evaluating one’s physical condition and taking special care to spot latent dis¬
eases that may or may not erupt in the future. In a second step, one should
treat these disease tendencies with various ^/-balancing methods, then move on
to energize the five inner organs, making sure they store ample qi, and take care
to live in moderation, avoiding excessive strain or emotions.

Moving into more active practice, one should begin to replace ordinary food
with herbal concoctions, allowing die body to cleanse and refine as it opens to
subtler states. This, then, can be supplemented with “talisman water,” i.e., the
ashes of a burnt talisman mixed with water. Taking this, adepts align them¬
selves with the higher energies of the cosmos. The last three steps involve heal-

3 Sun also provides a similar outline in Qianjinfang 27, based on the Daolin sheshenglun
(Discourse on Protecting life by Master Daolin, DZ 1427) (Kohn 2008b, 137).

Discussion

ing exercises, the absorption of qi, and the ingestion of the five sprouts, the
pure qi of tire five directions of the universe, which firmly places the adept into
the larger cosmic context of Dao (see Engelhardt 1987; 1989, 273-77).

All these practices, while ostensibly physical in nature and geared primarily to¬
ward the healing of diseases and establishment of an energetic balance in the
body, are also meditative in that they require an inward focus and increasing
awareness of the presence, quality, and movements of qi within. They lead al¬
most seamlessly into tire practice of mental concentration, the starting point of
meditation proper and the main focus of the Zuowang lun and its related texts.

Concentration

The first step in meditation is the establishment of something called access
concentration, which creates the mental focus and sensory calm necessary for
further practice. It stands in contrast to attainment concentration, the complete
one-pointedness of attention and the utter absorption in a single object which
signifies a state of inner bliss and the overcoming of ego—the “Stability of
Cosmic Peace” of Zuowang lun , sect. 6.

Access concentration commonly begins by focusing the mind on the respira¬
tion, anchoring it with the help of kinesthetic, visual, or auditory awareness, i.e.,
feeling it at a certain point in the body, focusing the gaze on an object or image
while breathing, and using either a count or set phrase while breathing in and
out. 4 It can also involve the guiding of qi and controlled forms of breathing:
deepening, holding, or reversing.

The point of the practice is to take control of the mind, make it behave in an
orderly fashion and be calm when required, in other words “tame” it like one
would a wild animal—a metaphor common in Buddhist sources and also used
in the Zuowang lun. Called “cessation” in Tiantai, it leads to “the termination of
all sorts of perversions and attachments obstructing die mind from seeing the
true nature of dharmas” (Ng 1993, 135). Although the texts agree that the mind
is generally indestructible, boundless, shapeless, and unpredictable, it has two
basic natures. It is eidier agitated and impure ( dong^huo lt!jll§), hasty and com¬
petitive, creating all sorts of stress and causing people to get ever more in¬
volved witii the world; or it is still and clear (jingqing ffdf), all-pervasive like
spirit itself, bringing people closer to the gates of Heaven and giving diem joy

4 For breath observation to establish access concentration in Buddhism, see Fryba
1989, 114-23, 208-25; Humphries 1968, 30-56; Kamalashila 1992, 16; Rosenberg 1998; Sole-
Leris 1986, 44-47, 78-81; Thera 1962, 108-13.

The Integrated System

and peace. The goal of this level of practice, then, is sit in stillness (or practice
quiet sitting, jing^uo and calm or give peace to the mind (auxin (Syty).

Sun Simiao describes the impure mind in his Cunshen lianqi ming. “The mind
experiences much agitation and little stillness. One’s thinking is conditioned by
a myriad different projections, it is full of grasping and rejecting and without
any constancy. Dreads and worries, plans and calculations keep racing on like
mad horses. This is the normal mind” (lb-2a). From here, by anchoring the
mind to the breath as felt in the rising and falling of the belly, one gradually
moves through several stages of increased calmness: mosdy agitated, half and
half, mosdy still, and being “turned entirely to clarity and stillness.”

The Zuowang lun , in its section on “Taming die Mind” (sect. 3) emphasizes the
need to sit quietly and get rid of all thoughts, i.e., mentally abide in non¬
existence and take no foothold anywhere. If one has to deal with affairs, take
care of them with a clear mind, stopping all thoughts as soon as the business is
completed and eliminating all fantasies and foolish ideas. This will lead to an
empty mind detached from all outside affairs, to a peaceful mind turned away
from ordinary tilings. Then, whatever one may hear or see, it will feel as if one
had seen or heard nothing.

This state of “no-mind” (wuxin^tf) is a completely new experience for die
mind which was used to relate to outer tilings and affairs all along. The fresh¬
ness of this mental independence may bring about a certain confusion for the
practitioner, but this must be checked at once. The mind should be fully im¬
movable, it should be blindly concentrated. Once blind concentration is estab¬
lished, the mind will finally be tamed, just as oxen and horses, merlins and gos¬
hawks gradually get used to being handled.

The dangers of this process are manifold. When one does not control the mind
enough, defilements overgrow it, one will float around in dissolution and be in
no way different from ordinary people. By abiding in emptiness as in a concrete
place, one will produce new mental projections and illusions about the nature
of reality. By trying to hasten the development of concentration, one will only
injure it and create another load of karma. Any kind of forceful action will agi¬
tate the mind. Diseases are the consequence, as are intense emotions, the
“thorns and brambles” or overgrowth of the mind made up from love, sight,
thoughts, and ideas. Another danger is that one only talks about it, missing the
effect of the method in practice and moving further away from Dao. Ultimately
Dao is realized by living with an empty mind in the midst of society, at the cen¬
ter of affairs. However to get to die point of having an empty mind that is also
stable one must get away from society for a period—like a crane soaring majes¬
tically into the sky after nourishing on regurgitated food.

Discussion

The same vision, much abbreviated, also appears in the inscription which em¬
phasizes the necessity to establish concentration in order to experience die ul¬
timate mental state as opposed to the mere theoretical understanding of the
fact that “glorious positions are worthless and vain, that life and death are one
whole.” It is found in most detail in the Dingguan jing, which begins with the
requirement to “give up all affairs,” then sit quietiy and at peace, systematically
eliminating all mental disturbances that might arise due to the “six impurities,”
i.e., data absorbed through the senses, and “projected reality,” i.e., the—
fundamentally illusory—understanding of the world in one’s own terms and
due to personal likes and dislikes. “Mind and reality both forgotten, there are
neidier afflictions nor irritations” (7b). This, a “stabilized mind in a state of
non-arising” (9a), is experienced for a short moment at first, then more fre¬
quently, and eventually becomes the solid foundation of all further practice.

Mind and Eyes

More details on the transition from agitated to stable mind are given in Wu
Yun’s Xinmu lun, which begins with the mind expressing its desire “to forget all
emotions in withdrawal and retirement . . . and leave the realm of life and
death” (lb) while accusing the eyes of distracting and disturbing it. The eyes,
here representative for all the senses—’’the body doting on beautiful orna¬
ments, the mouth desiring rich tastes, the ears being fond of harmonious
sounds, and the nose delighting in fragrant smells” (lb-2a)—counter by insist¬
ing that “disorder is never tire fault of those below,” holding the mind respon¬
sible as the central governing agency of the self and accusing it of living accord¬
ing to its own version of projected reality, “discriminating between beings and
self, illuminating right and wrong” (2a).

In other words, adepts working to tame the mind need to begin with a strong
determination to pursue inner stillness and let go of sensory attractions, but
they cannot blame the senses for presenting them with outside information as
long as they still evaluate it in terms of good and bad, right and wrong. Instead,
they need to move away from their conceived understanding of reality and set
their vision on immortality and ecstatic freedom, following the call to Dao. In
Wu Yun’s essay, the mind proposes such a vision and the eyes appreciate it but
they warn against yet another level of likes and dislikes: “You would desire
stillness yet follow tilings in haste, push out defilements yet stir up more dregs”
(3a), expressed in Twofold Mystery as the perception of partial emptiness.

Following the model of the Zhuanggi, Wu Yun in his discourse uses various
water metaphors to describe the activity of the mind. In the early part of his
essay, he emphasizes the distraught and unhappy state of the mind with words
like “confused” (luan ffL) and “muddled” (lun '$jj). In the following sections, he

The Integrated System

applies images like to “ride on pure chaos” ( cheng hundun WM$£), a watery state
of primal merging, and become “one with the vast expanse” {batman fpM), an
ocean of vast openness, to express the mind’s longing for clarity and freedom.
Abstract purity and defilement, too, are expressed in water-terms: qing ?jf, open
clarity, is an image of standing water that is lucid to the bottom; ty the
sediments and dregs, are a metaphor for the deep defilements that lurk in the
depth of the mind: stirred up, they cause great agitation and harm.

The ideal state found through spiritual practice, too, is seen through the meta¬
phor of water. The mind becomes “shoreless” {wuya and “limpid” {bo tfi).
It is the ocean of Dao within, and just as “rivers rise, and dragons come to coil
in them,” so “spirit rests in an empty hollow.” Roaming in “vast, deserted wil¬
derness,” the mind wanders freely around “the boundless source.” Free from
all, it overcomes the various turbid and whirling motions of its impure state and
remains unmoved by the flow of activities around it, however violent they may
be. Neither “whirling storms” nor “heaving oceans” or even “sky-high floods”
can shake it any longer.

Detachment from Affairs

Only when the mind “adopts a relaxed attitude” and “finds placidity,” it is puri¬
fied of thoughts and stops pursuing tilings, reaching an intermediate stage the
Zuowang lun calls “Detachment from Affairs” (sect. 4). This signifies an inner
separation from the world and new understanding of oneself and one’s needs.
Most importantly it involves the realization that life goes on by itself, that
tilings are neither good nor bad but just what they are. At this point worldly
achievements become “mere gratifications of passions and desires” and one
can live in purity, giving up “whatever is not essentially necessary to sustain
life,” dedicating oneself solely to Dao.

Of central importance here are the notions of essential inner nature and origi¬
nal destiny, the parameters one is born with that prescribe what is right for
one’s particular situation. As Sima says: “Knowing that life has allotments, one
should not be concerned with what one is not allotted;” and, citing the Zhuang^i,
“He who has mastered the perfect nature of destiny does not labor over what
destiny cannot do” (ch. 19).

The classic explication of these concepts, on which Sima draws here, is found
in Guo Xiang’s commentary to the Zhuanggi (DZ 745), the first to connect the
concept of share or allotment (fenj }•) with inner nature ( xing ft) and the con¬
cept of principle or cosmic order (// JJ|), with destiny {ming rffj) (see Robinet

Discussion

1983a; Knaul 1985b). 5 According to him, all beings have their share in the or¬
ganic process of life, which in concrete terms means that everyone has certain
inherent limitations and life conditions. Essential inner nature accordingly
means the intrapersonal aspect of people’s share in the cosmos, indicating the
way they are created by nature, their genetically determined abilities, character,
and natural way of being. Independent of people’s subjective wishes of what
they would like to be or do, it works in complete disregard of all aspirations,
hopes, conceptions, and feelings.

Governing people’s lives from within, essential inner nature is the individual’s
Dao, “what people rely on spontaneously without ever being conscious of
“ (2.35b). This can be a positive and comforting concept in the sense that one
has a built-in direction and perfect abilities in this world. It becomes problem¬
atic and threatening when one tries to change it or go against it. Then it be¬
comes the root of much suffering.

Sima Chengzhen understands inner nature as inborn qualities that remain in
people’s unconscious. There is no way to really know one’s inner nature as an
object. It is only by learning to accept oneself as one is within the framework of
one’s natural allotments and limitations that one can avoid being “concerned
with what is not allotted.” This unconcern will provide freedom from strife and
tension, bringing inner peace and happiness.

The other main concept of Guo Xiang is original destiny, which he sees in rela¬
tion to principle or cosmic order, a term indicating that all living beings are
bound by cosmic rules. He says: “Each single being has its inherent order, as
much as each individual affair has what is appropriate for it” (3.14b). Cosmic
order is the outer framework in which human life is set; it cannot be escaped
because in every single instance it defines the particular circumstances of one’s
existence. It is also the function which connects individual beings with the
whole of the cosmos, defined as the flow of existence.

Like cosmic order, destiny in Guo Xiang is an ordering factor that structures
human life from the outside. It means the life that one is “ordered” or “com¬
manded” to live by Heaven. “That which one is given is destiny,” Guo Xiang
maintains, “one cannot shape it at will” (4.10b; 19.43b). Within cosmogony the
pair order/destiny is placed prior to allotment/inner nature. That is to say, ac¬
cording to Guo Xiang, when the cosmos first came into being, tilings received
their structure and their outer framework before they were defined in their in¬
ner characteristics and specific ways of participation in the universe. Like with

5 These works are based to a large extent on Japanese research. See Aoki 1979a; 1979b;
Fukunaga 1954; 1964; Hachiya 1967; Horiike 1972; Nakajima 1970; Nakano 1990; Seki 1965;
1974; Togawa 1966. The work by Brook Ziporyn (2003) studies Guo Xiang purely as a Con-
fucian thinker and makes no reference to these works nor does it examine his Daoist vision.

The Integrated System

inner nature, the goal is to recognize destiny and accept whatever it may be as
something which they cannot do anything about (6.3b; 8.38a).

As existence is naturally flowing along, so life should just be part of the rhythm
of Dao. The only reasonable and proper way to deal with allotted inner nature
and the a-priori structure of one’s destined life is to “base one’s actions on the
changing situation, to adapt to circumstances without imposing fixed rules”
(Graham 1969, 143). In describing this ideal attitude, Guo Xiang uses a great
variety of terms ranging from “accord with” and “correspond to,” to “let go,”
“follow along,” and even “being content with” or “resigning oneself to.” This
kind of attitude toward a life which is governed by forces beyond individual will
and intention enables the person to “live in the midst of action full of serenity,
to remain among beings without attachments,” as the Zuowang lun has it. The
knowledge that one’s inner nature is only a share in the cosmos and that one’s
destiny is merely the individual manifestation of cosmic order makes such an
attitude possible. The calm and concentrated mind is thus given a new way of
looking at the world, readying it for the more advanced stages of oblivion.

Seeing the Self

Just as this stage in the Zuowang lun is at the half-way point from ordinary to
perfected perception, so essential inner nature and original destiny are at the
mid-level of the vision of body and mind in the greater system of Daoist cos¬
mology. This vision rests on Dao and inherent potency (virtue) as the funda¬
mental powers of creation, the root of all existence and phenomena. Through
the medium of qi, the vital energy that makes all tilings come to life in visible,
tangible, and audible form, they manifest in the two fundamental constituents
of the human being: spirit and body-form (xiwg).

Spirit is the intangible power of Dao, which comes to inhabit the body as pure
form—which, unlike the body-self ( shen ), is free from personal preferences and
identities and essentially just a microcosmic replica of the greater universe. The
body is thus die “habitation of the spirit” ( Zuowang lun), “the carriage of the
spirit, the habitation of the spirit, the host of the spirit” (Xishengjing 7.5; Kohn
2007, 145). Li Rong comments, “The body can carry the spirit, the spirit can
ride within the person, dius die image of the carriage is applied. The body can
give a home to the spirit, the spirit can use the body as a habitation, thus the
term habitation is used. The spirit comes from outside and takes up temporal
residence within the body, dius it is said that the body is the host of the spirit”
(DZ 726; 4.4a). The body is accordingly also called the “root of die spirit,”
where the latter resides as a ruler in his country ( Huangting neijingjing 27.6). Simi¬
larly it is the “vessel of Dao,” and one need only look inside to find Dao

Discussion

(Xishengjing 12; Huainan^i 11,7b; YQ 58.1b). Spirit is thus the resident of the
body-form; combined they make individuated physical reality come to life.

Within the individual, they further appear as two forces often described as
“souls” which define the fundamental attitudes and urges of the person. Thus,
the spirit or cloud soul (bun e®) connects people to Heaven, is yang in nature,
and governs the person’s overall attitude to the outside world and supports
intellectual, artistic, and spiritual endeavors. 6 At death it returns to Heaven,
transforming into the ancestral spirit that is worshiped on the family altar. The
material or white soul (po 0®) connects the person to Earth, is yin in quality,
and controls basic survival instincts, such as the need for food, sleep, and sex,
and in general manages the physical aspect of the individual (Jarrett 2006, 30).
At death it returns to Earth by staying with the corpse; it is nurtured in proper
burial sites and procedures as well as through sacrifices at the tomb.

How these two function specifically is defined by essential inner nature and
original destiny, the inborn/genetic and outer/social conditions of life, two
agents that represent an even more individuated connection to Dao. They
shape the concrete fulfillment the souls will strive for—be it artistic, musical,
intellectual or spiritual for the bun , finding most satisfaction in food, sex, wealth,
status, or comfort for the po. They also determine the direction the next two
psychological forces take: the will (phi yin) and intention (yi jSf; yang), which
function in close relation to the kidneys and spleen. They represent the general
power of thinking and planning in the intention and the more focused determi¬
nation directed toward a specific objective in the will.

So far, the human being can function perfecdy within Dao without having to
resort to conscious evaluations or emotions in any form. Inner nature and des¬
tiny defining one’s inner gifts and urges as well as outer situation and circum¬
stances, one can live one’s life in perfect harmony with body, family, society,
state, and cosmos—provided everyone does the same and they all follow their
perfection as given by Dao. This, then, is Guo Xiang’s ultimate vision, what
Isabelle Robinet calls “le monde comme absolu” (1983); it is also the ideal of
Great Peace, the political and social utopia of ancient and not-so-ancient China.

It gets problematic when people—as they are wont to do—deviate from their
cosmically ordained life path. The main culprit, according to the texts, are the
senses, the six robbers, the six defilements which cause disruption in the all¬

's It is also the agent that is called back in the ritual known as “Summoning the Soul”
(chaohun (jzjsSt). A shaman or priest climbs to the roof of the house and calls out in all direc¬
tions to the departed soul to return, depicting each region as dreary and dangerous. The rite,
as much as the three-day delay of the burial, makes sure that the soul is not just on tempo¬
rary leave or the person in a state of suspended animation. For original chants, see Hawkes
1959. For Han beliefs, see Yil 1987. For modern Hong Kong, see Chan and Chow 2006.

The Integrated System

encompassing sphere of cosmic harmony and universal oneness. The senses
stimulate people into having reactions of right and wrong, good and bad, likes
and dislikes, and other forms of craving and aversion. The result are intellectual
classifications and artificial categories—what the texts describe as mental pro¬
jections or partial views—and reactive feelings or emotions which in turn pro¬
duce a sense of insufficiency, frustration, yearning, and general dissatisfac¬
tion—what Buddhists describe as thirst (tan jit), suffering {ku i^r), afflictions
('fan M), and irritations (nao 'ff§) and Daoists talk of in terms of vexations (huan
H,) and confusion (luan j|L). From here the ordinary mind and the body-self
arise, both factors that determine so much of actual life and that yet could not
be further removed from who we really are in Dao.

The system of sitting in oblivion serves to reverse this process. Detachment
from affairs, building on taming the mind through concentration exercises and
karmic de-conditioning by putting some distance between self and society, is
the point where adepts for the first time have a clearer vision of who they are
now and who they ultimately should be. It sets the stage for the more advanced
practices that lead eventually to attainment of Dao and the ecstatic freedom of
immortality.

Chapter Six

Advanced Stages

The more advanced practices consist of various further forms of meditation,
including traditional visualization, Buddhist-inspired insight or mindfulness,
deep levels of absorption, as well as shamanic flights into the otherworld and
intimate contact with gods and immortals. The individual is transformed from
an ordinary person into an immortal, a metamorphosis that completely reor¬
ganizes feeling and thinking and acting in alignment with Dao. The aim is to
develop one’s body identity from an individual entity to being part of the larger
framework of nature, to complete oneness with the cosmos at large. No longer
a means toward sensual gratification, the body becomes a vehicle of perfection
and emotions become powerless. The aspiring immortal is systematically
trained to see and feel a distance between die underlying truth of perfection
and the surface waves of emotions or “passions and desires,” as the texts have
it. Worldly tasks and pursuits are found shallow and even considered hin¬
drances to the goal.

The conscious mind, too, undergoes a similar change through rigorous repro¬
gramming. The arising of mental projections and “foolish imaginings” is first
observed, then controlled, and eventually stopped altogether. The understand¬
ing of oneself as an individual with a set, socially and emotionally defined per¬
sonality is lost in favor of a wider sense of oneness with the universe, the Dao.
In the final stages, adepts acquire powers that otherwise are considered “super¬
natural,” but really only one’s birthright in Dao. They pass through a series of
stages that each deliver them to a new and higher level of subtlety until they
finally find their right place in the heavenly spheres and live in ecstatic, un¬
trammeled freedom—whether on this planet or in the galaxies beyond.

Advanced Stages

Inner Observation

The first practice described in the texts, and the next stage in Sima
Chengzhen’s work, is observation. The Chinese term for “observation” is guan
H, explained in the Han dictionary Shuowen jiepi (Elucidating Phrases

and Explaining Words) as “to scrutinize.” The term denotes “looking at some¬
thing in an examining fashion,” thus the usage of guan as “observatory” or
Daoist monastery (Schafer 1980, 18). In Tang meditation texts, it indicates two
major types of practice: the “inner observation” ( neiguan ftlS) of the different
parts and aspects of the body, including tire visualization of its energetic pat¬
terns and residing divinities; and the “perfect observation” (phenguan jtCfl) of
reality which involves the establishment of a witness consciousness that allows
the detached inspection of one’s life and self in order to attain a purified view
of the world. In the latter sense, guan adopts the Buddhist practice of vipasyana
or insight meditation, also translated with the term guan , in combination with
s amatha, cessation or full concentration (phig t). 1

Inner observation is a form of visualization, defined as the active, intentional
use of imagery to alter or transform mind and emotions. Objects of visualiza¬
tion can be colors or colored energies imagined to pervade parts of the body;
they can involve static objects, such as a vase, a diagram, a landscape, or the
statue of a deity; and they can be focused on an entire sequence of activities
and events, almost in movie fashion, either for detached viewing or active en¬
gagement. Since the brain does not distinguish outside stimuli from imagined
ones, visualization is a powerful mode of accessing the subconscious mind to
retrain brain mechanisms and transform emotional reactions. 2

In Daoism, the earliest form of visualization is the infusion of colors into the
inner organs, hinted at in the Heshang gong commentary to the Daodejing and
documented in more detail in the Taping jing shengjun bphi 8? Pffi# h

(Secret Instructions of the Holy Lord on the Scripture of Great Peace, DZ
1102), a Tang-dynasty redaction of meditation methods according to the Han-
dynasty Taipingjing (see Kaltenmark 1979b; Schipper in Schipper and Verellen
2004, 277-80; trl. Hendrischke 2006). Like later methods that involve ingesting
cosmic energies into the organs, such as the “Five Sprouts” ( n>uya JlJL), the
key technique here is to see tire body energized by qi of different colors as as-

1 Guan in the Buddhist context is also translated as “view” or “contemplation.” See Ng
1993, 136.

2 See Begley 2007, 9, 151-52. In visualization the brain uses the same regions as in
physical actions; it recreates the experience as if done physically (Ratey 2002, 147). For more
on visualization in general and as used in healing, see Epstein 1989; Korn and Johnson 1983;
Samuels and Samuels 1975.

Discussion

sociated with the five phases . 3 By the third century first visualization manuals
appeared that described deities who resided in the starry constellations above
but who were also present in the human body—now seen as a veritable store¬
house of divine agencies, palaces, and figures. The most important works here
are the Huangtingjing and the Lao^i 3 -hongjing (Central Scripture of

Laozi, DZ 1168, YQ 18 19), 4 but related methods also appear in Ge Hong’s H
'^Baopuji ItPf'HP (Book of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity, DZ 1185;
trl. Ware 1966) of the mid-fourth century and become the central mode of
Daoist meditation in the school of Highest Clarity (see Robinet 1993).

According to these sources, the head is the cosmic paradise of Mount Kunlun
or the administrative center of the Yellow Court; it contains nine palaces, each
the residence of a divine being and thus matching starry mansions. Most im¬
portant among these nine palaces were the Hall of Light, located in the center
of the eyebrows about one inch into the head; the Grotto Chamber, one inch
further in; and the Niwan Palace in the very center, also known as the upper
elixir field. There are three elixir fields in the body: the upper one just men¬
tioned; the middle one in the solar plexus or heart area, also known as the Nu¬
minous Terrace, the Scarlet Palace, and tire Square Inch; and the lower one in
the abdomen, an area also called Mount Kunlun, the Gate of Life, the Primor¬
dial Pass, and the Ocean of Qi . In all three, celestial rulers reside, the so-called
Three Ones, whose presence ensured the practitioner’s successful ascension.

Inner observation guides practitioners to transform personal identity as formed
by subjective perception of the body into a sense of cosmic oneness and align¬
ment with the stars and divinities above. This practice of visualization, more¬
over, could lead to a deep trance state, during which adepts left their ordinary
environment to go on ecstatic journeys into the supernatural realm, both on the
earth, exploring its far-off corners, and in the heavens, visiting the gods. Their
goal was to become so familiar with the otherworld that their main reality was
over there, to experience—by seeing and feeling die gods and their palaces—a
cosmicization of self and world.

The Tianyintp places “visualization and imagination” ( cunxiang ) diird after physi¬
cal preparation and seclusion. It defines this in terms of concentration as “re¬
turning to stillness” and in terms of inner observation as turning the eyes in¬
ward and to “visualize the spirit and imagine the body-self.”

3 On these methods, see Kohn 1989a. For more on the Five Sprouts, see Jackowicz
2006; Kohn 2008b, 155-57; Robinet 1989, 165-66; 1993, 176-78.

4 On the Huangtingjing, see Baldrian-Hussein 2004; Homann 1971; Kohn 1993a, 181-
88; Kroll 1996; Mugitani 1982; Robinet 1993, 55-96; Schipper in Schipper and Verellen 2004,
347-48. On the Laotj ^hongjing, see Lagerwey 2004; Schipper 1979; in Schipper and Verellen
2004, 92-94.

Advanced Stages

The most explicit Tang text on this form of practice is tire Neiguan jing which
describes the different aspects of body in cosmic terms: the five phases, tire
three spirit souls, the seven material souls, the eight phosphor stars, and the
various chambers and palaces of the gods. The key deities it tells adepts to
maintain are those residing in the three elixir fields: the Great One in the head,
the Ruler of Destiny in the heart, and Baiyuan and Taohai in the abdomen.
“Radiating through the hundred joints, they give life to the hundred spir-
its”(2a). 5

The text encourages practitioners to give up all delusions and fantasies, limit
sensory input and attachments to tilings, get rid of emotions and entanglements,
and “observe that the body-self has arisen from emptiness and nonbeing” and
in essence is nothing but a randomly individualized manifestation of Heaven
and Earth (3a). The body deities are forms of cosmic spirit while the mind as
apparent in day-to-day consciousness is a deviation that keeps people separate
from Dao. By becoming aware of one’s connection to die greater universe and
overall dependence on Dao one can make the mind empty and stable, attain
clarity and stillness, and allow spirit to shine forth in stillness.

The Neiguan jing compares the presence of spirit in the body-form to the oil in a
lamp, which in turn needs the wick to create fire. It explains: “Brightness kar¬
mically depends on spirit radiance; spirit relies on the mind being fully present;
the mind exists only within the body-form; and body-form is only complete
dirough Dao” (5b). It makes use of the concept of spirit as internal brightness
or light {shenmingffi 00), which goes back far in ancient China.

Originally related to the ancestral cult, spirit light is first mentioned in the an¬
cient expression for ancestral spirits meaning “blossom of radiance.” Philoso¬
phers, next, defined inherent potency as the “light of inner vision” that direct
outer behavior toward goodness. Thus spirit as the agent active in human po¬
tency is the force of light, which in turn is the visible pure qi of yang. The per¬
sonal light of inner vision, moreover, is die same as the light of the cosmos. As
both participate in one another, they become the stronger the more harmoni¬
ously they shine forth. This is die power that renders ritual objects potent
(Vandermeersch 1985). The Daoist concept of light is a direct continuation of
these ancient notions. Many Daoist practices thus aim at strengthening the in¬
ner light of the adept (Robinet 1979, 94), inner observation being foremost
among them in the Tang.

5 This is a variant version of the meditation on the Three Ones. See Andersen 1980;
Kohn 1993a, 204-14; Robinet 1993, ch. 4.

Discussion

Perfect Observation

The other major form of observation is perfect observation. As outlined in
section 5 of the Zuowang lun , it also focuses on strengthening spirit by seeing the
universal connection of self and reality. It adapts Buddhist insight or mindful¬
ness practice, which teaches the practitioner “to engage the object actively, con¬
templating it in terms of Buddhist doctrine until he has brought about a change
in the way the object occurs to him” (Bielefeldt 1986, 137). To do so, the
method establishes a detached, objective observer or witness consciousness in
the mind. This is a mental position of distanced seeing, a faculty of taking a
step back from involvement with experiences and emotions. The detached ob¬
server is something all people have at times, such as the ability to laugh at
themselves when in a strange situation or the faculty to take a step back and
examine circumstances from a distance. 6

Through insight meditation, practitioners strengthen this observing faculty and
make it accessible at all times. Learning to both feel an experience immediately
and see it from a distance, they begin to identify, observe, and cleanse negative
emotions while cultivating positive states, such as compassion and kindness,
calmness and equanimity, peace and joy. They also come to see the world in¬
creasingly in new terms, understanding that neither mind nor self are immuta¬
ble, firm entities; that life is constantly changing and essentially unsatisfactory;
and that true contentment can only be found in the present moment. As a re¬
sult, mindfulness meditators engage with reality in a detached yet intensely pre¬
sent way.

The Zuowang lun, matching concepts and phrases used in the Tiantai school,
encourages adepts to understand the interconnectedness of all phenomena and
realize the full power of karma and retribution. The text, moreover, takes the
practice into daily life. How, for example, should one relate to such worldly
necessities as food and clothing? One should recognize them as a vehicle, a
means of transportation, necessary but to be abandoned in due course. Like a
boat that is used to cross an ocean, it cannot be given up before one has com¬
pleted the trip, yet should not be carried around afterwards.

Then again, how does one eliminate all feelings of enmity and hatred? One
must come to regard them truly, to realize that “to see another do evil and give

6 For a detailed analyis of the objective observer, see Deikman 1982. The central text
on the practice in ancient Buddhism is the Satipatthdna sutra, which divides it into four types:
mindfulness of body, sensations, mental states, and mental contents. On the text, see Brazier
1995, 70; Bucknell and Kang 1997, 19-25; 50-54; Fryba 1989, 245-73; Silananda 1990; Sole-
Leris 1986, 74-78; Soni 1980; N. Thera 1962; S. Thera 1998.

Advanced Stages

rise to enmity and hatred in one’s own mind is just like seeing someone kill
himself and prompdy sticking one’s own neck out to accept the other’s blade
and get killed oneself.” What if 1 am deeply distressed by the state of extreme
poverty that 1 am in? Echoing the Zhuang\ i, Sima Chengzhen says one should
try to find out who made you poor. Heaven and Earth?—-Why should they?
Your parents?—Certainly they wanted you to be happy! Spirits and other
men?—They are far too busy with their own troubles to make you poor. The
conclusion must be reached that all one experiences is due to the karma pro¬
duced by oneself and the destiny one has been given by Heaven. One has to
accept whatever cannot be avoided, one cannot run away from oneself.

As the text notes, the situation of the adept at this point of his development is
comparable to that of a knight fighting with a band of brigands. He can either
fight the various vexations and illusions with the strong sword of observation
and insight and thereby establish the lifelong merit of happiness for himself. Or
he can flee the battlefield and abandon his weapons, thus succumbing to the
enemy and ending up in disgrace and defeat. Another comparison is found in
the Zhuang^i metaphor of the “sobered man who now can see the drunkard’s
evil deeds the wrong of which he was totally unaware as long as he was drunk
himself.”

Bod y and Self

What the drunkard did not realize but what meditators come to see at this
point is that there is no continuity in one’s body, whether as cosmic form or
personalized self. Merely the “shape one has taken in this particular life,” the
body-form ( xing) is basically part of the continuous flow of existence, a tempo¬
rary, fleeting phenomenon that has arisen from the eternal process of universal
transformations yet contains the spirit and one’s connection to Dao. On the
other hand, the body-self {shed) becomes a dwelling place for vexations, pain,
and suffering.

In whichever dimension body is so unstable, as the Neiguan jing (3b) and the
Sishen jue fpf (Secret Instructions for Meditation on the Spirits, YQ 55, la)

agree, because it is assembled from qi. Already the Zhuang^i has, “Human life is
a coming-together of qi. If it comes together there is life. If it scatters there is
death” (ch. 22; Watson 1968, 235). The body is thus only a form that takes part
in the continuous natural transformations of qi, it is merely “borrowed from
Heaven and Earth” ( Lie^i 1; Graham 1960, 29) and duly is bound to “return to
dust and ashes” (Xishengjing 7). As a consequence of this vacillating nature of
the body, it is also unstable within. As mentioned above, the Zhuangtg empha¬
sizes the notion that “there is no true master” of body and mind (ch. 2). It also

Discussion

assures us that we do not have any real possession of the body and that we can
not control its development in any way (ch. 22).

Yet far from being able to just let it go on changing as it pleases, people per¬
sonalize tire body due to the senses and their reactions to them. From a body-
form determined by tire changes of Heaven and Earth it becomes a body-self,
turning into “the reason why I have terrible vexations. If I didn’t have a body-
self, what vexations would I have?” This famous citation from Daodejing 13 is
quoted in the Zrnwang lun , in the inscription, in the Xishengjing , and many in
other meditation works. Li Rong explains: “Having a body means having vexa¬
tions and adversities. Frustrated by sight and hearing, tortured by taste and
smell, one is subject to pain, irritation, heat, and cold” (DZ 726, 2.9b); and: “As
soon as there is a body-self, the hundred worries compete to arise, and the five
desires [of the senses] hurry to make their claims” (4.5b).To escape from all this,
ideally “the sage desires to return to the beginning, to the state before he was
born” (XSJ 7.17; Kohn 1991, 261). This is also the key feature in the Heavenly
Worthy’s “Explanation of the True Father and Mother,” i.e., Dao:

This body-form is nothing that I have. It only comes to life as it follows
empty nonbeing and cosmic spontaneity. In accordance with karma I
was entrusted to the womb, underwent several transformations, and took
birth. The parents who conceived me are not my real origin. They are
just taking the part of the parents in this world. My true parents are not
here, they are noble and honorable, most venerable and lofty. The par¬
ents who conceived me in this world were merely predestined to gra¬
ciously give me nourishment and education. I bow to them in accor¬
dance with propriety and honor them as my parents.

But ultimately whatever I received as “my” body-form is not really mine.

I only use it as a temporary residence, a shelter like a thatched hut. Look¬
ing down on it, I recognize it as a body-form; analyzing it, I find it does
not really exist. So the “I” who has attained Dao is said to have no more
body-form, no more body-self, no more spirit! Once the body-self
merges with universal oneness, the perfect body-self makes its appear¬
ance. Then I can return to the cosmic parents who originally gave me life
and fully attain Dao. (YQ 31.9b-10a)

The value of the body in the Daoist path is thus twofold: it can be used to
make people realize the impermanent nature of all apparently solid phenomena;
it also serves as the basis for the cultivation of spirit or Dao, of essential inner
nature or potency. It is important not to confuse the two. The inscription says,

If one did not have a body-self and thus returned to nothing, shouldn’t
that be called the loss of the basis of eternal life? No, I answer, what you
would call not having a body-self does not actually refer to not having

Advanced Stages

this body-form. Rather, the expression means that the bodily structure is
unified with the Great Dao, that one is never influenced by glorious po¬
sitions, nor ever seeks after speedy advancement. Instead, it indicates
that placidly and without desires one forgets the experience of this body-
self which is so dependent on all kinds of things.

Daoists at this stage increasingly identify with Dao as it governs and inhabits
the body, thus loosening attachments to their limited physical and personal
selves. They begin to develop a new and wider identity as part of the universe
at large, coming to see themselves as beings of spirit that are merely housed in
this fragile physical framework which will be subject to all the transformations
the spirit transcends.

Oblivion

Finding rest within the body and letting the changes of the universe go along as
they please, practitioners enter a state of deep absorption or complete oblivion.
This is a trancelike or enstatic state of complete immersion in Dao to die exclu¬
sion of all else, characterized by unconsciousness and immobility. The Tian-
jinvyi describes it as both the culmination and oblivion of the previous level, as a
stage where there is no more seeing or hearing, no more conscious acting or
sense of self. At this point, as both the Zhuang^i and the Zuowang lun say, “the
body-form is like dried wood, the mind is like dead ashes; there are no more
impulses, no more searches.”

The Tianjin ty goes on to describe an almost Zen-like dialogue where a disciple
asks about mind and Dao, and “the Master of Heavenly Seclusion remains si¬
lent and does not answer.” Another question elicits a similar response: “The
Master closes his eyes and does not look.” Like in a koan, the Daoist master
here takes the disciple out of his intellectual mode and into the core of the
practice by demonstrating the form the practice should take (see Hori 2000).
When he finally talks, it is only to note that in a state of “self and other both
forgotten, nothing is left to radiate forth.”

Generally, descriptions of this state speak of “preserving,” “embracing,” “har¬
monizing,” and “recovering.” Rather than in terms of flux and going along, it is
a state of fullness and stability, an intense tranquility and restfulness which per¬
vade the adept. The imagery used is one of union, oneness, and merging; it is
full of darkness and the shading of light, showing a mind full of innocence and
simplicity, purity and resting in Dao. People in this state are like an uncut block
of wood; their time has stopped and there is no more progress, no more decay.
They have fully joined the One at the source of creation, the deep underlying
root on whose basis change takes place, the center from which all universal

Discussion

development springs. This source of the universe is what is truly permanent, it
is “being” in its truest form. Unless dais is recovered and preserved, unless one
has is completely one with this, immortality cannot be had. The underlying
ground is static—and so in this phase of realization is the immortal state.

The Zuowanglun calls this level taiding K, which at first glance means “great
stability.” The term goes back to the Zhuangsg, which says yu taidingfa hu tian-
guang (ch. 23). Burton Watson translates: “He whose inner

being rests in Great Serenity will spread a heavenly radiance” (1968, 254).
James Legge speaks of the “mind being grandly fixed” (no. 7), A. C. Graham
reads die initial yu as a noun and understands tianguang as die source rather than
the effect of radiance, thus rendering die sentence: “What is ultimately fixed in
the cosmos-as-spatial goes on issuing from the light of Heaven” (1981, 103).
Victor Mair mixes diese readings and says: “when space is serenely stabilized”
(1994, 231); Brook Ziporyn follows him to say, “empty space is vast and un-
shifting” (2009, 98). In my earlier translation of the Zuowang lun, 1 had “intense
concentration” for taiding reflecting the continuity to section 3 on “Taming the
Mind,” which focuses on concentration, and emphasizing the increased inten¬
sity of this absorbed state.

However, a different dimension to die term becomes obvious in the Zhuang^i
commentaries. Bodi Guo Xiang and Cheng Xuanying explain tai and ding as
equal yet separate characteristics of the meditative state. Guo Xiang says: “If
virtue rests in tai and ding, a heavenly light is brought forth” (25.10b). Cheng
Xuanying, too, supports this by giving antai (peace) for tai and jingding jf§?
/Ei (quiet) for ding. The Tang text that uses this distinction most explicitly is the
Wuchujing, which makes it very clear that tai is a separate word and not a modi¬
fier. Focusing largely on the absorption level of the oblivion process, its key
concept is taihe which is parallel to taiding but, instead of indicating “great
harmony,” means tai and harmony. The text has:

“Attaining universal oneness” means: on the inside, dwell in the qi of
universal oneness to nourish essence and spirit; on the outside, make
physical form and life whole to abide in tai. (la)

What, then, is taii One major meaning of the word is “peace,” but this peace is
significantly different from an which is personal and internal and means
resting in deep inner and mental calm, and also from ping which is social
and political and means the balance and harmonious interaction of agents and
forces, as in taiping. Great Peace. Thus 1 now render the word as “cosmic
peace,” indicating that at this level of practice, which is also the full attainment
of the state of oblivion, adepts find a level of mental immersion that allows
them to participate in cosmic harmony while resting in deep mental stability.

Advanced Stages

Stability

Ding , the term used for “stability,” too, comes with an extensive set of connota¬
tions. In Buddhism it is used to translate samadhi (3 hengding lE/fi), a state of
deep absorption that allows Buddha-nature to shine forth and is the beginning
of enlightenment. It also renders dhyana in the compound chanding jpip/i? and
thus indicates a concentration so deep that one is pervaded by feelings of hap¬
piness and bliss. Buddhist dhyana is “a mode of meditative concentration, not a
content” (King 1980, 41). It can be described as:

a state in which attention is locked in on one specific datum to the total
exclusion of all others; for practical purposes and with respect to ordi¬
nary awareness, the subject is in full trance and operatively unconscious;
the lucidity is actually a description of the immediately ensuing moments,
when the mind reawakes to the world around it, but sees that world in
the mood of the just ended higher state of consciousness. The calm, un¬
distracted post-dhyanic mind now sees clearly. (King 1980, 48)

In classical Buddhist literature, dhyana is explained as the state reached when tire
five hindrances (tiredness, agitation, craving, aversion, and doubt) are com¬
pletely overcome and only a sense of deep joy and harmony remains. It consists
of eight progressive levels of absorption which, like Daoist oblivion, are charac¬
terized by a significant slowing of respiration, the absence of thought, an ex¬
pansion of mental openness, a feeling of the disappearance of the bodily self,
the closing off of sight and sound, and an overall deep and blissful serenity
(Austin 1998, 475).

As they advance in the practice, meditators reach in the first dhyana where they
still experience thought—not the fleeting, wandering puppy mind of the begin¬
ning, but sustained clear and conscious thought—while those in the second
dhyana are free from thought and only feel a deep inner confidence and single¬
ness of mind. The third dhyana eliminates the factor of happiness as joyful ex¬
citement, leaving tire meditator in a state of unified bliss. The fourth, next, sees
the emerging of a complete unity that is so deep that it is not even blissful any
longer, but pure equanimity and steadiness of mind. Following these, there are
four further stages, known as formless dhyanas , extremely subtle states of con¬
sciousness that leave behind all component elements of existence. They allow
the meditator to dwell in boundless space, boundless consciousness, nothing¬
ness, and in a state of neither perception nor non-perception . 7

7 For descriptions of the Buddhist dhyanas, see Brazier 1995, 59-60; Humphries 1968,
187-93; King 1980, 41-54; Sole-Leris 1986, 56-73; Kamalashila 1992, 66-87.

Discussion

The Daoist system matches this in that with the attainment of the “stability of
cosmic peace,’' die adept has left all worldly involvements and deliberations
behind and, as die Zuowang lun says, has reached “the first footiiold of Dao.”
The state of mind he finds himself in is characterized by a twofold structure,
perfect serenity on the inside and a “heavenly light” radiating on the outside.
This pair is also described as tranquility and wisdom in accordance widi
Zhuang^i terminology or as concentration and insight following Buddhist usage.

Formulated in more concrete terms, at this stage one has to “make sure to al¬
ways note the disadvantages whenever one recognizes an advantage, and to
calm the mind whenever one feels anxiety about misfortune.” On the odier
hand, one should continue to “diminish, forsake, purify, and cleanse the mind.”
This will lead to a perfect stability of mind, one will be unperturbed even by
“sudden clashes of thunder.” As a result, “unmoving in the stillness, one will
imperceptibly enter enlightenment.” In addition to this outline of what one has
to do, some explanations on the nature of the human mind are given. The
mind is inscrutable, never to be grasped or understood, it is extremely powerful
in its manifestations such as anger or goodwill, hatred or benevolence. It
reaches through the eight directions, can be anywhere and nowhere, and it is
never far-off the Ninefold Darkness below or the Threefold Clarities above.

The inscription quotes the same Zhuangt^i passage, then proceeds to interpret
“great stability” as resting in “emptiness and oblivion, merging one’s mind with
the realm of solitude and stillness.” It makes it very clear that this is die state of
“sitting in oblivion.”

The most detailed presentation of Daoist absorption appears in the Wuchujing.
It speaks of the qi of universal oneness (yiqi —as the origin of the cosmos
and foundation of human life. One is to merge back with dais qi and forego all
sorts of mental and physical interaction:

When people are first endowed with the qi of universal oneness, they are
[innately] merged with the harmony of cosmic peace. By pater] dwelling
in harmony and attaining universal oneness, they can merge with cosmic
order and find overarching peace. As utmost harmony flourishes freely,
not only is there no more [sense of] oneness, but there is also no [con¬
scious awareness of] harmony any longer. (2a)

The main work of the meditator at this level is the continued maintenance of
deep concentration and inner calm. Spirit should be focused to a “state of pro¬
found luminosity,” using the word %han which means “softly brilliant” or
“translucent” like standing water, “making it vague and vacuous, and letting it
merge with the state before thoughts arise.” At this point all mental activity is
obliterated and “all knowledge is forgotten” (2b). It is important to realize that

Advanced Stages

this is state of unknowing and non-thinking is a spontaneous inner unfolding
and not an intentional or controllable process: “If you knowingly pursue non¬
thinking, you are already mired in delusory perception and are thus in a state no
different from thinking, intending, and the like”(2b).

Echoing the Zhuangsj, the Wuchujing further describes the mind at this stage as
being “like a deep abyss: unadulterated, it regards the myriad phenomena
equally”, i.e., makes all tilings equal. Reminiscent of both Zhuangtj and Chan
metaphors, it emphasizes that it should be bright and clear, “a mirror of [uni¬
versal] light, where the [world’s] dust and grime have no place to stick” (3b).
Subde nuances of intensified oblivion follow: the mind dwells in the elimina¬
tion of all; it is free even of itself as perceiving agent and reaches a point of
non-dwelling (4a).

Full oblivion, the state in which one “casts off form and does away with
knowledge,” is found when the world is completely “eliminated on the outside”
and consciousness no longer has an active agent on the inside” (4b). Instead,
“tilings just arise and pass away one after the other,” one is fully merged with
the natural processes and completely free from all reactions, feelings, classifica¬
tions, and evaluations. Then “there is just personal karmic functioning and no
more self-based knowing” (5a).

Wisdom in Dao

Self-based knowing at this point is radically replaced by wisdom or insight, ex¬
pressed with the two terms %hi ^ and hut |§. While Buddhists use them inter¬
changeably to refer to wisdom in the sense of prajiid —the understanding of
world and self in terms of suffering, impermanence, and no-self—Daoists tend
to be very much aware that %hi is originally derived from %hi (SO, knowledge.
Thus they make a distinction between wisdom as based on human knowledge
and insight developed through the practice of meditation, attaching highest
value to the concept of non-knowledge or unknowing ( ivu^hi )te$n).

Unknowing in medieval Buddhist texts is also a way of understanding prajiid.
Thus Sengzhao in his Panruo n>u^hi lun {Prajiid Is Non-

Knowledge) says:

The empty mind is a mysterious mirror. It is a state when knowledge is
closed in and perception obstructed. Only then can one be aware of the
darkest mystery. Therefore, when the deep dark mirror develops from
knowledge, it is non-knowledge. When spirit applies itself fully to en¬
countering and corresponding, it is utterly free from thoughts. Only
spirit free from thoughts can be aloft, beyond the world. Only knowl-

100

Discussion

edge which is non-knowledge can mysteriously reflect what is beyond
things. (T. 45,153b).

The true knowledge of non-knowledge is thus “the way a pure sagely mind
relates to the world.” It represents insight and not wisdom, pure going along
and not acting, the pervading power of Dao and not strenuous human effort.

Already die Zhuang^i notes that sensory input and knowledge can harm people
and that it is much better if “the eye does not see, the ear does not hear, and
the mind does not know” (ch. 11; Watson 1968, 119). Li Rong in his commen¬
tary to the Xishengjing similarly describes the mystical process as a loss of con¬
scious knowledge. “All knowledge of the principles, all wisdom of the classics
is utterly submerged in darkness. Pursuing the lightless, one becomes darker
and more obscure” (2.5a). Consequently the final state is one of submersion
and complete unknowing: “Being ignorant and unknowing is following life,
thereby one does not deviate from Dao or err from the root” (2.2b).

The resulting personality is entirely unbound by physical limitations, by emo¬
tional engagements, intellectual divisions, and arguments of reason. Any con¬
scious ego identity that was there before is lost, and it is hard to determine at
what point exactly the individual ends and the Dao begins. All is in continuous
flux, moving along smoothly with the changes of the greater universe.

Coming out of enstatic immersion and the complete cessation of all physical,
sensory, and mental functions, adepts at this stage fully attain Dao and tran¬
scend all in open pervasion. They undergo an increase in movement, openness,
joy, light, even ecstasy, until they rise up to heaven and take up their rightful
place among the immortals.

The imagery of this level is ecstatic and shamanistic: flight into higher realms,
experiences of altered states of consciousness, freedom from worldly imitations.
Attaining Dao means getting lighter and brighter; the higher one ascends, die
purer die spirit becomes, the more light one will radiate. The worldview that
underlies this model is one of “becoming:” the universe is in a constant flux,
and notliing stands ever still or stops for a moment. Time is conceived as cycli¬
cal, eternity can only take place in an eternal return. By reaching this, the Daoist
has become one with Dao in both its key aspects, as the quiescent, underlying
power of all and as the creative power of the world, continuously moving and
forever transforming

Dao is the most basic of all forces of the universe, “undifferentiated and yet
complete, it existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it de¬
pends on nothing and does not change; it operates everywhere and is free from
danger” (Daode jing 25). Not having a better name for this invisible, inaudible,
and subtle force, it is called Dao (14). It is the basis of all creation. “Dao is free

Advanced Stages

101

from life and death, but all embodied beings must live and die. . . . They only
come to life when they attain Dao; they die once they lose it,” as die Neiguan
jing maintains (4b).

As the key force that makes qi assemble and causes everything to exist, Dao
occupies a position in Daoist mystical thought very similar to that of the spirit.
As Li Rong says: “Spirit functions in giving life to embodied beings. Without
this, there would be no life. ... It is only upon borrowing spirit that embodied
beings can come to life. Spirit uses them as a habitation in order to attain com¬
pletion. Without the joining of the spirit and embodied beings, there would be
no life nor completion” (4.14b). “Spirit,” the Tianjin says, is “that which “ar¬
rives without moving and is swift without hurrying, what transforms along with
yin and yang and is as old as Heaven and Earth” (sect. 8). The Neiguan jing pro¬
vides more details:

Spirit is neither black nor white, neither red nor yellow, neither big nor
small, neither short nor long, neither crooked nor straight, neither soft
nor hard, neither thick nor thin, neither round nor square. It goes on
changing and transforming without measure, merges with yin and yang,
greatly encompasses Heaven and Earth, subtly enters the tiniest blade of
grass. Controlled it is straightforward, let loose it goes mad. Clarity and
purity make it live, turbidity and defilements cause it to perish. Fully
bright, it radiates to the eight ends of the universe. Darkened, it confuses
even a single direction. Keep it empty and serene, and life and Dao will
spontaneously be present. (2b)

Oneness with spirit means its liberation ( shenjie ^jjpfl) and the attainment of
spirit pervasion (shentongffijjjf), which means the emitting of a bright radiance
and attainment of supernatural powers. Perceiving fully with spirit instead of
the senses, Daoist immortals as much as enlightened Buddhists are omniscient
and can penetrate all phenomena with equal ease. 8

The Zuowang lun , too, describes Dao in terms of spirit as a most “spiritual and
wonderful tiling,” always there, yet never to be grasped or fadiomed. As Dao
tills the body-mind of the adept, he becomes a spirit person, someone whose
“body is pervaded by Dao and unified with spirit,” thus reaching a life co¬
eternal with Heaven and Earth. The Nishengjing agrees: “I don’t see, don’t hear,
don’t know—the spirit does not leave the body-self and I live as long as Dao”
(16.4). Li Rong comments: “Not seeing means that one is not blinded by colors.

8 For Buddhist desriptions, see Yuanjue jing W'fife (Perfect Enlightenment Sutra, T.
17.913a); Weimojing (Vimalakirtinirdesa sutra, T. 14.539a). The former is a work on

Buddhist meditation central to Tang practitioners that has been explicated variously, includ¬
ing by such important figures as Zongmi pfe® (780-841) who uses Tiantai materials that
have also influenced the Zuowanglun. See Bielefeldt 1986, 133.

102

Discussion

Not hearing means that one is not deafened by sounds. Not knowing means
that one is not obstructed by thinking. Abandon sights and sounds and be pure.
Get rid of all patterns and distinctions and be non-acting. Then spirit will not
leave.” Only in an utterly empty mind Dao comes to stay—but it does so natu¬
rally and quite independendy of the wishes of the practitioner.

Alchemy and Ecstasy

Both the Dingguan jing and die Cunshen lianqi ming outline seven stages that ad¬
epts undergo as they attain Dao, the Dingguan jing beginning with mental stabil¬
ity, a stage not found in the other text. Here the first stage is the strengthening
of vigorous health, with “the body-self growing light and the mind translu¬
cent,” in a state full of joy and peace and completely free from emotions. From
here, adepts attain long life and recover youth, moving away from die general
pattern of aging and pervading the numinous. Next, they become “immortals,”
ageless and light, “flying or walking, spontaneously present everywhere” as well
as guarded by a host of divinities.

Stage four (five in the Dingguan jing) signals new levels of refinement: leaving
the body-self to become pure qi, adepts attain the level of “perfected” which
comes with the ability to appear and disappear at will and move through the
grottoes and heavens of the divine. Next, they refine qi to spirit and become
“spirit people,” powerful enough to move Heaven and Earth. From here, they
purify “spirit to unify with the world of form” and are called “utmost beings.”
Their appearance and body-form no longer definite, they “change according to
occasion and go along with tilings to appear in different forms.” The final stage
(only described in the Cunshen lianqi ming signals ultimate transcendence: “whirl
out of all relations and reside next to the Jade Emperor of the Great Dao.”

Unlike these texts, which describe the final transformation in purely meditative
terms, die inscription, like in Wu Yun’s 'Kingxhen kegu lun (De Meyer 2006, 374-
77), in addition recommends the use of “gold and cinnabar” in order to extend
one’s attainments as far as the body. Thereby the “transformation of wings”
(yuhua (RHJi) will be reached, i.e., one will become truly immortal and “enter the
gateway of the boundless.” 9

Ultimately the successful adept will ascend into heaven. Sima himself is said to
have anticipated his transformation, then sat quietly in meditation until he rose
into the clouds, accompanied by white cranes, purple clouds, and celestial mu-

9 Later practitioners of internal alchemy formalized both stages and ascension meth¬
ods, making the spirit exit the body through a hole in the head and engaging in formal visu¬
alizations and encounters with gods. For more, see Eskildsen, 2004; 2007; 2009a; 2009b.

Advanced Stages

103

sic. His contemporary, Huang Lingwei WftSMt, the Flower Maiden similarly
ascended bodily to the immortals. As her biography in Du Guangting’s Yong-
chengjixian (Record of the Assembled Immortals in the Heavenly

Walled City, DZ 783), has it, after her passing in 721,

In the ninth year of the Opened Prime reign period [721], when the Maiden was
about to ascend and transform, she told her disciples: “Because my transcendent
journey has become urgent, I cannot stay here any longer. After my body is
transformed, do not nail my coffin shut. ]ust cover the coffin with crimson silk
gauze.”

The next day she came to her end without even being sick. Her flesh and
skin were fragrant and pure, her physical form and breath warm and genial. A
strange fragrance filled the courtyards and halls. Her disciples followed her or¬
ders and did not nail her coffin shut, simply covering it with crimson silk gauze.

Suddenly they all heard lightning and thunder strike. On the top of the silk
gauze was a hole about as big as a hen’s egg, and in the coffin were only her
shroud and some wooden [text] slips. In the ceiling of the room a spot had been
penetrated [leaving a gap] big enough for a person to pass through. At the base
of the coffin, where offerings had been placed, a gourd sprouted creepers several
days later and then set two fruits like peaches. (Cahill 1990, 33-34; 2006, 125; see
also Despeux and Kohn 2003, 124-25; Kirkland 1991)

Another way of ascension is by just vanishing completely. Again, the successful
adept is ready to transform and has been in contact with the divinities, then
announces his or her supernatural state and gets ready for departure, but the
setting is less formal. Instead of a visible transformation and a non-decaying or
vanishing corpse, here the person just vanishes into thin air. This form of as¬
cension, not as celebrated and rather less well prepared, often leaves friends
and family in a state of confusion. An example from the late eighth century is
the story of Qu Boring H^[=10 of the Taohua guan (Peach Blossom

Monastery) in Langzhou, found in the Huang xianshi Qutongji
(Record of Immortal Master Huang and Lad Qu) which says:

In the summer of the eighth year of Great Succession [773] in the eve¬
ning of a dragon day of the fifth month [27*], Lad Qu put on formal
dress, paid obeisance to the gods, and stepped outside into the courtyard.

He said that a numinous appointment was waiting for him, and that he
could not linger much longer. . . . He proclaimed: “The chronograms
come to meet me, even the year star is descending now.”

On the side of the courtyard was a huge chestnut tree, not more than
a couple of yards from where everyone was standing. Lad Qu turned his
back to the crowd and very slowly walked over to stand next to the tree.
From there he gradually dissolved and vanished into thin air. (Sunayama
1987; Kohn 1993a, 329-30)

104

Discussion

His fellow Daoists were stunned and did not believe their eyes. For several days,
they combed the area but they could not find a trace of him or his body. In
either case, the subjective experience is something like Wu Yun’s description in
Cycle 4 of his Buxuci (Schafer 1981; Kohn 2009, 227-28):

My inner being changes into congealed pure qi\

My body quite refined, I become perfected, an immortal.

My heart oblivious, I match the primal ancestor of all—

Reverting to my roots, I’m one with spontaneity.

The Emperor Great One settles in my heart;

As streaming light pours from my elixir field.

The gods, like Wuying and Taohai,

Chant brightly from the chapters of long life.

My six viscera glow with luminous morning light;

My hundred joints are like a net of purple mist.

My whirlwind carriage traverses endless spaces:

Slow and steady I rise on light itself.

Unaware how far the road of clouds,

In an instant, I wander through ten thousand heavens.

Chapter Seven

The Suddhist Dimension

The system of sitting in oblivion in its Tang heyday owes much to Buddhism
both in underlying worldview and concrete practice instructions. At the same
time, oblivion as an ideal state and form of meditation has also made a serious
impact on Chinese Buddhism.

Buddhist features, especially the ideal of the renunciant, basic precepts, karma
and retribution, as well as key features of the pantheon, scriptural structure, and
community organization, were first adopted into the Numinous Treasure
school in the fifth century and since then came to shape Daoism as a whole. In
this respect, the Buddhist dimension of the ^mwang system merely reflects the
status quo at the time, and it would not have occurred to Sima Chengzhen or
any of his contemporaries to think, for example, oiye, lit. “action,” as anything
but karma.

As regards concrete practice instructions, certain aspects of the 3 mwang system,
especially those on “perfect observation,” work strongly with methods adopted
from Buddhist insight meditation. At the time, the practice formed a key aspect
of the Tiantai school, founded in the sixth century as part of the overall drive
for unification and the integration of teachings. Its founder Zhiyi ^sfgjl (538-
597) wrote several important works on “cessation and insight”—or “Stop!
Look!” as Michael Saso renders it (2000, 1)—which provide instructions on
basic practice as well as descriptions of stages, hindrances, and resulting states.
Sima Chengzhen, as much as Wu Yun, a resident of Mt. Tiantai and well in¬
formed of the various methods of the day, adopted the practice into his system,
matching yet also transforming the Buddhist way.

The impact of \mwang on Buddhism, on the other hand, is most obvious in the
focus on the abdomen, which is quite different from Indian practice, where the

105

106

Discussion

breath is observed at the nostrils and the belly plays only a secondary role. As
Michael Saso points out:

Daoist breathing techniques, are always based on focusing attention on
the lower elixir field [in the abdomen], which vastly facilitates the con¬
templative process itself, making an hour seem like ten minutes, rather
than ten minutes seem like an hour. This point cannot be over¬
emphasized, and is a basic component in all the masters’ teachings.

When Buddhism came into contact with Daoism, such as at Mount
Tiantai, the focus on the belly also became part of Chan practice, now
known as “just sitting” (shikanta^a tkSSff^). as well as of the practice of
elementary cessation and insight, outlined in the Xiao %higuan /J 'ihUI text
of Zhiyi, which attests to this influence.

Thus, even today, when learning xiao \higuan on Mount Hiei [near
Kyoto], the belly is kept as focus, as it is also in martial arts, calligraphy,
and in Mikkyo meditation: the vajra or thunder world, which purifies,
bums away, and empties all images before achieving meditative union, is
placed in the belly of the meditator, while the lotus mandala is in the
heart and the dharma in the mind. (Personal communication, April 2010)

Both in medieval China and today, Buddhist Chan (Jap.: Zen) practice instruc¬
tions and explanations show many similarities with ^uowang It has long been
recognized that the Zhuang^i, the root source of oblivion, has influenced it
Buddhism, and scholars have pointed to various medieval intermediaries, such
as Daoan or Sengzhao, who brought Daoist terms and concepts into a Bud¬
dhist context. Oblivion as both the ultimate state and practice procedure, how¬
ever, is the clearest and most pervasive example on how Chan was shaped by
Chinese culture. Similarities and connections abound—yet there is no denying
the uniqueness of the Buddhist approach and the potent transformation they
have wrought on the Chinese and Daoist patterns.

The Buddhist World

Buddhism first arrived in China in the first century c.e. but did not emerge as a
strong religious force until the early fifth century, when the Central Asian
scholar-monk Kumarajlva (d. 413) from Kucha came to head a translation insti¬
tute in the northern capital of Chang’an. 1 Due to his efforts, and after several
centuries of variegated transmissions and unregulated organization, Chinese
Buddhists finally had texts that represented accurate presentations of doctrine

1 For details on the early history of Buddhism in China, see Ch’en 1973; Tsukamoto
and Hurvitz 1985; Ziircher 1959.

The Buddhist Dimension

107

and worldview, rules and rituals. Both metaphysical speculation and monastic
discipline improved vastiy, leading to an upsurge in Buddhist activity in die
country and inspiring Daoists to imitate the foreign religion.

The leaders in this effort were Daoists of the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao JI
JU) school, initiated by Ge Chaofu in the 390s on the basis of the

Highest Clarity teachings, from which he adopted the ideas of multiple layers of
heaven, celestial administration, and an extensive host of divine beings. In addi¬
tion, he also returned to Han-dynasty cosmology of the five phases, the ideas
and practices of Han recluses and masters of magic, and Celestial Masters ritual.

Once the newly translated Buddhist materials became available, Ge’s disciples
integrated diem into dieir form of Daoism, using aspects of Buddhist cosmol¬
ogy, worldview, scriptures, and practices, and compiling a vast new collection
of Daoist texts in close imitation of Buddhist sutras. Most specifically, they
adopted the notion of multiple layers of heaven and consecutive world ages or
kalpas, the doctrine of karma and retribution, visions of various hells and tor¬
ture chambers for the dead, sets of systematic precepts and community rules,
savior figures that would come and take people to the otherworld, as well as all
sorts of new rituals and purification practices (see Ziircher 1980). Through
their efforts, Daoism in fifth-century south China transformed into a complex
and sophisticated organized religion that has had a strong impact on Chinese
culture ever since and set the standard under which Sima Chengzhen and the
odier Tang masters operated.

The most important aspects of the rather extensive Buddhist imports into Dao¬
ism for sitting in oblivion include the organizational setting of meditation prac¬
tice in monastic institutions, the formalized ediical requirement in the taking of
precepts and refuge in the Three Treasures, the doctrines of karma and retribu¬
tion, the five paths of rebirth, and die various layers of hell, as well as the vision
of die body-mind in terms of multiple aspects, defilements, hindrances, and
purification.

The first Daoist monasteries evolved under direct Buddhist influence and were
actually called si using the term reserved for “administration of foreigners”
under the Toba-Wei (r. 386-535). Even when the first guan was established at
Louguan in the late fifth century, its organizational structure—from architec¬
tural features through daily schedule and administration to rules and regula¬
tions—closely followed the Buddhist model (see Kohn 2003). Thus, halls were
set up on a north-south axis, widi more public ones first and holier sanctuaries
later, plus administrative, kitchen, and dormitory facilities on the sides. In their
daily schedule, too, Daoists matched Buddhist convention and divided the day
into six periods of worship—midnight, cockcrow, dawn, noon, dusk, and early
evening (Pas 1986; Kohn 2003,175).

108

Discussion

All the various monastic rules and regulations, moreover, as much as die basic
precepts, were inspired by Buddhist models, in some cases imitating diem di-
recdy—as in the case of the five precepts (pancasila ) or the 250 rules for monks
(Praiimokfa )—in others tailoring the rules to specific Daoist needs (see Kohn
2004a). An example of the latter is found in guidelines for vestments which,
unlike in Buddhism where monks’ robes were made from rags, were highly
ornate and inhabited by personal deities and divine protectors (Kohn 2003).

As regards meditation practice, not only was the monastic institution its central
location but—again in adaption of Buddhism—it opened its gates to the laity
for one-day retreats or for longer periods of abstention and purification (zhai).
As still true today (see Goullart 1961), lay followers would join die monastics in
their daily routine, take additional precepts, and undergo training in elementary
forms of practice. Based on this one may assume that Sima’s original lectures
on sitting in oblivion were delivered at his monastic center on Mount Wangwu
to aristocratic lay followers eager to find peace in their busy lives.

Not only die physical setting, the worldview underlying oblivion practice also
shares basic Buddhist features. Most important is the doctrine of karma, which
states that all actions have inevitable consequences and, after a period of matu¬
ration, revert to their perpetrator. As die individual’s consciousness is the car¬
rier of this load, it must continue to be embodied in a physical form to receive
the rewards and punishments necessitated by its former actions. Thus the no¬
tion of rebirth revolving in the five realms—of gods, humans, animals, hungry
ghosts, and hell dwellers—became a close correlate to the idea of personally
created and suffered-through karma (Mahony 1987, 262).

In the Daoist system, the lowest levels are described as the “three bad re¬
births,” die “five realms of suffering,” the “eight difficult conditions,” and die
“ten situations of intense suffering.” As described in the fifth-century Jieje ben-
xing shangpin miaojing bnrtfe!>|<« (Highest Wondrous Scripture of Con¬

trolling Karma and Rooting [Good] Conduct, DZ 345), the three bad rebirths
are in the hells, as hungry ghosts, or among animals, while the five realms of
suffering include all areas of rebirth. The eight difficult conditions are life on
the borders or among the barbarians, as a slave, orphan, indigent, or handi¬
capped person as well as in an environment devoid of Dao. The ten situations
of intense suffering, moreover, are specific punishments in the hells, envisioned
as supernatural courts of inquisition and torture, such as the mountain of
knives, the tree of swords, and the cauldron of boiling water (see Lagerwey in
Schipper and Verellen 2004, 242-43).

The entire complex of understanding the mind and its workings, finally, pre¬
sents an intricate mixture of ancient Daoist and Buddhist concepts. The mind,
both traditions agree, is the personalized functioning of cosmic root con-

The Buddhist Dimension

109

sciousness (spirit; Buddha-nature), determined in its content by concrete mani¬
festations of reality (fa (f, dharmas; xiang phenomena; Soothill and Hudous
1937, 267, 259). These reach it through the six senses, also known as the “six
robbers,” the creators of the six emotions (qing 1 ^) or sensory impurities ( liuchen
7x15, gunag 1937, 406). Classifying and evaluating sensory data, the mind sways
between craving and aversion ( aiwu mgadvefd), never resting, always agi¬

tated (dong S(l), unsteady, and impermanent ( wuchang jte'tyl). This agitation is
more specifically described in terms of defilements and impurities ( ran ) as
well as, irritations and afflictions (fannao M'lH, klesa\ 1937, 304, 406).

In terms of thinking, a very similar structure holds true. On the basis of sensory
input, the conscious mind, the thinking, reflecting, critical, and divisive factor
of perception ( shi |fc, vijnana\ 1937, 473) creates mental projections which it
then regards as objective reality (Jing ia, vi§aya\ 1937, 421). In fact, it is subject
to the so-called six taints (liuranfffz, 1937, 135), aspects of the wrong percep¬
tion of apparent reality (Jia {(§), which is ultimately empty ( kong ff). The include
being attached to apparent reality and failing to eliminate it, giving rise to dis¬
criminating consciousness and accepting sensory data as real as well as mentally
seeing apparent reality and continuing a. primal karmic relationship to it. Each
thought (manias, smrti, 1937, 258) is yet another manifestation of this funda¬
mentally deluded (wang |i|) way of being in the world, perpetuating mental ten¬
sion and agitation and thus karmic involvement. The practice of sitting in obliv¬
ion, as much as Buddhist insight meditation and %uochan, begins accordingly by
anchoring the mind in stillness, then moves on to releasing built-up intellectual
and emotional fallacies.

Insight Meditation

The central Buddhist method of meditation, as first recorded in the sermons of
the Buddha, is insight or mindfulness ( vipasyana ), while its way to stillness is
concentration or cessation ( samatha ) (Faure 1986, 103). The latter is usually es¬
tablished by focusing the mind on the breath with “mindfulness of breathing”
(anapanasati ). Allowing the breath to flow naturally and remaining aware of its
movement, meditators begin to observe their mind and find that it is like a wild
monkey, run-away horse, or excited puppy that never stops for an instant. Over
a period of days or weeks, the mind calms down and is ready for insight prac¬
tice, the detached observation of body sensations and sensory impressions.
Practitioners scan their bodies systematically time and time again, noticing dif¬
ferent feelings and becoming aware of changes while understanding that they
are impersonal and beyond their control. They also learn to take this detached

110

Discussion

awareness into other aspects of life, practicing walking meditation, mindful
eating, and generally maintaining calm observation (see Rosenberg 1999).

Remaining still and nonreactive, meditators allow subconscious patterns to
emerge, become conscious, and evaporate. Gradually painful and unpleasant
sensations and various accompanying emotions—also observed with detach¬
ment—give way to subder and more pleasant feelings. Actively piercing
through the apparent solidity of the body, they become aware of an underlying
pulsation, an ubiquitous flow of vibration, a sense of subtle energetic oscillation.
Realizing that this is the true nature of their selves, they see how little stability
and solidity there is and start taking themselves less seriously, seeing their iden¬
tity in a larger and more flowing context as taught by the tradition (Austin 1998,
129-37; Brown and Engler 1984). In Buddhism, this means rethinking the
world specifically in terms of suffering, impermanence, and no-self. Eventually
mental outflows stop completely and enlightenment begins to unfold.

In Tang China, this system was mainly represented by the Tiantai school
named after its main mountain center. Its practices were widely known in the
religious environment and even used by lay people as a means of healing or for
pain relief (see Sakade 1989, 30; Ando 1970; Yamano 1984). Daoists learned
the methods both from their wide use in Tang society and also directly from
the center on Mount Tiantai, where many masters spent some time, including
Sima Chengzhen and Wu Yun.

Founded by Zhiyi in the sixth century, the main Tiantai characteristic was its
hierarchical integration of the various teachings and traditions within Buddhism,
based on the theory that the Buddha taught Iris ideas in many different ways so
as to adapt it to the individual preferences and specific abilities of tds listeners.
The system allowed Buddhists to integrate texts from widely variant and even
contradictory schools into one organized whole, claiming that, whatever the
form of a given teaching, it always went back to one original truth. This fun¬
damental truth, moreover, encompassed all its concrete manifestations which at
the same time also contained one another (see Hurvitz 1962; Swanson 1989;
Ng 1993; Groner 1984; Ziporyn 2004a).

In other words, while it is essential to find liberation from die defilements of
the mind and unwholesome karmic patterns of life, it does not matter which
practice one begins with or which bodhisattva one invokes. Nevertheless, Tian¬
tai followers placed the Lotus sutra at the top of all scriptures and Guanyin Ulllf
(Avalokitesvara) at the center of their veneration. They strongly recommended
the practice of cessation and insight as the most efficient vehicle to enlighten¬
ment. Zhiyi himself is die source of three important treatises on the practice
that each share something with the Zuowang lun.

The Buddhist Dimension

111

Most extensive among them is the Mohe 3 higuan llfenf Lhfjj (Great [Outline of]
Cessation and Insight, T. 1911; trl. Donner and Stevenson 1993), which out¬
lines the practice in a rather scholastic fashion. He describes cessation in three
parts: putting an end to something, dwelling in something, and as an arbitrary
name for reality, then emphasizes that it should lead to observation of all reality
as empty (see Donner 1987). The closest match in Daoist materials appears in
the Daojiao jishu, which details three forms of observation: of apparent exis¬
tence, of emptiness, and of the middle (Kamata 1963, 211). Zhiyi next divides
insight into ten different modes that all lead to tire understanding that “all pos¬
sible determinacies are . . . identical to each moment of experience, just as a
tiring is identical to its own characteristics and properties, or to its own process
of becoming and perishing” (Ziporyn 2004b, 549). The main thing that this text
has in common with the Zuowang lun is that it was transcribed by a disciple on
the basis of the master’s lectures. In this case, they were delivered during the
summer retreat of the year 594 and edited by Guanding '(HIM (561-632).

Second is the scholastic Jueyi sanmei xingfa (How to Cultivate

Samadhi with Aware Intention, T. 1922), which details four major kinds of
absorption along Madhyamika lines. The ultimate transcendence of all func¬
tional perception is achieved after undergoing six kinds of preparation which
bear a certain similarity to methods used in the Zuowang lun. They include estab¬
lishing firm determination (through die bodhisattva vow), taming die mind (or
controlling negative qualities with the help of the Six Perfections), eliciting
mental phases (by seeing the mental factors or skandhas ), general discernment
of the mind (i.e., observation of perceived reality in terms of the two truths and
four Madhyamika propositions), and specific discernment amidst all activities
(i.e., while walking, staying, sitting, and lying down) (see Stevenson 1986, 82-83).
As a result, the meditator comes to fully realize that the mind “is pure in its
essential self-nature and free of any change or transformation” and reaches
illumination or universal awareness (1986, 84).

The closest connection with the Daoist system is found in Zhiyi’s more ele¬
mentary Tongmeng ^higuan (Cessation and Insight for Beginners, T.

42). 2 This probably served as the ground model for the Zuowang lun for the
simple reason that it “represents the first practical manual of meditation avail¬
able to the Chinese” (Bielefeldt 1986, 133). Although not quite the same in
basic outlook—it was addressed to initial monastic practitioners and not to lay
followers and accordingly includes a lot more technical details—the text yet
shows clear overlap in its emphasis on general modes of practice and the heal¬
ing of diseases. For example, it works with physical practices such as simple

2 English translations appear in Bucknell and Kang 1997, 55-63; Lu 1964; Saso 2000.
The most extensive studies are in Japanese: Sekiguchi 1957; 1974; 1975.

112

Discussion

stretches, breath control, and the six healing breaths (Saso 2000, 88-91)—all
derived from Daoist exercises (see Despeux 2006; Kohn 2008a)—which in
Daoist meditation literature appear in related texts, such as Sun’s Zhen^hongji
and Sima’s Fuqi jingyi lun. The section on “Harmonization,” furthermore, “on
the control of body, breath, and mind could [also] serve as a handy, nonsectar¬
ian guide to the basics of Buddhist mental discipline” (Bielefeldt 1986, 133).

In terms of overall organization, Zhiyi divides his treatise into ten stages which,
as Yoshiko Kamitsuka (1982) has shown, bear some resemblance to those of
the Zuowang lun:

Zuoivang lun

Tongmeng \higuan

1. Respect and Faith 'f&fg

1. Fulfilling Karma JUic

2. Interception of Karma HpHc

2. Rebuking Desires

4. Detachment from Affairs

3. Removing of Screens igjjf

3. Taming the Mind J$0D

4. Harmonization gM^D

5. Expedient Means

5. Perfect Observation jfC®

6 . Proper Cultivation jEflts

6 . Cosmic Peace and Stability

7. Goodness Manifest UHf

8 . Recognizing Mara 5JIj8

9. Healing Diseases inilp?

7. Attaining Dao -fUdll

10. Realizing the Fruit gHlfl

Chan

Moving in the opposite direction, there is also a school of Buddhism quite in¬
debted to tire Daoist tradition in theory and practice. This is the Chan ftp (Zen)
school, which traces itself back to the Indian monk Bodhidharma who suppos¬
edly arrived in China around the year 520. As first described in Song histories,
the school claims to have emerged as a movement against the set ways and
rigid patterns of established Buddhism. Hoping to return to the original pursuit
of personal enlightenment rather than serving tire aristocracy with devotional
rituals and enjoying the luxuries of sponsored living, select monks dedicated to
contemplative practice took to the mountains where they practiced deep medi¬
tative absorption, called chan after the Sanskrit word dhjana. They eschewed the
use of scriptures, rituals, devotion, and formalized training, increasingly in¬
spired young seekers, and soon saw their followings grow into substantial
groups which first received official recognition in the seventh century (see
Dumoulin 1965; McRae 1983; Yampolsky 1967).

The Buddhist Dimension

113

Contrary to this traditional vision, recent studies have shown that the claim to
being iconoclastic and unconventional was part of the rather romanticized
Song vision of an ideal Chan which supposedly flourished in the Tang and con¬
sisted of a few dominant lineages. Rather, it emerges, Chan began—and for
several centuries continued—as a multifaceted localized development with
enormous regional diversity and a strong “plurality of doctrinal standpoints and
soteriological approaches” (Pocesci 2007). It was not until the late Tang that it
developed into specific lineages and adopted die features that shaped it in die
centuries to come (see McRae 2003; Faure 1997; Adamek 2007; Poceski 2009a).

More strongly connected to the Chinese tradition than other Buddhist schools,
Chan made ample use of Daoist terms and concepts, especially those derived
from the Zhuang^i. The two traditions accordingly share numerous basic ideas
(see Brazier 1995, 191; Kasulis 1981, 29-38; Watts 1957, 3-28). For example,
both emphasize the experience of immersed oneness, described as “making the
body like dried wood and the mind like dead ashes” both in Zhuangtg and Chan
sources, which also speak of “dropping off body and mind.” Similarly both
favor a state of oblivion or no-mind where the person as person has “lost him¬
self”:

Zuikan was a Zen master who always used to address himself. “Zuikan?”
he would call. And then he would call “Yes!” “Zuikan!” “Yes!” Of
course he was living all alone in his small zendo, and of course he know
who he was, but sometimes he lost himself. (Suzuki 1970, 81)

Both also favor the transformation of conscious and sensory experience toward
a subtler, deeper, and no-self level. Sitting firmly in a full or half lotus posture
without moving and calming the breath to a very slow rhythm is die foundation
of Chan practice as well as of Daoist oblivion. Keeping the body stable, the
mind comes to rest, but thoughts continue to arise and pass away and the main
task is to break the addiction to conscious evaluations and critical judgments.
Thus the modern master Shunryu Suzuki says: “When the fish swims, water
and fish are the fish. There is notiiing but fish. . . You cannot find Buddha-
nature in vivisection.” Similarly the Japanese master Bassui (1326-1387) echoes
Zhuang^i in asking: “Look! Look! Who is die master that is seeing and hearing
right now?” (Suzuki 1970, 134; Braverman 1989; Austin 2006, 3).

Both Chan practitioners and Daoists, moreover, tend to undergo five phases of
increased mental focus. Just as Sun Simiao outlines in his Cunshen lianqi ming, so
traditional Buddhist texts describe five levels of concentration on breathing,
after the initial stage of counting: staying, returning, accompanying, observing,
and purifying (Link and Lee 1966, 192). The same is also borne out in modern
meditation research, which finds that Zen practitioners undergo five stages of
mental awareness in their basic training:

114

Discussion

1. Focus on breathing. Reactive effect, alteration in occurrence and

response to breathing.

2. Attention wanders. Habituation to the task of breathing.

3. Focus returns to breathing. Eventually “effordess breathing”: relaxed

attentive awareness, without reactive effect, without habituation.

4. New thoughts occur and are watched with relaxed awareness and con¬

tinued focus on breathing. Global desensitization. Thought stopping.

5. Absence of internal chatter; categories suspended; receptivity to inter¬

nal/external stimuli. “Mind as mirror.” (Shapiro and Zifferblatt 1984)

Beyond that, however Chan practice is quite different in aims and methods.
Fujiyoshi Jikai (1974) delineates the differences as follows:

yuochan

\'uoivang

aim

liberation from all

union with Dao

method

increased awareness, awakening

darkening, obscuring, oblivion

oblivion

seen as delusion

true state of Dao

ideal

remain individual, but free

dissolution in cosmos

worldview

no fixed position

assumption of underlying One

Despite these differences, both in Daoism and Chan, the human mind is the
key factor which, in its original clarity, connects to the universal network with¬
out effort. Its universal and originally pure nature, in Daoism called “spirit” and
in Chan called Buddha-nature, is the cosmic mind of creation—described in
most detail by the Yogacara school, which speaks of storehouse consciousness
(%angshi flsHc, alayavijnand) or mind-only (Chatterjee 1962; Keenan 1993). Ac¬
cording to this, mind-only is at the root of all existence, and a human mind in
vibrant connection with it conducts all activities of life to perfection, knowing
spontaneously and immediately what is what and what needs to be done—
without reflection, interference, or conscious thoughts.

Chan practice, like sitting in oblivion, reduces conscious activity and sensory
mediation to zero in order to break through to this underlying connectedness,
to the pure existence of mind-only. On the way to this breakthrough, practitio¬
ners work hard and sit intensely, undergoing a variety 7 of distracting experiences:
from heat and cold through trembling and shaking to hallucinations of light,
visitations by specters, and visions of divine beings (Dumoulin 1981, 142)—
just as outlined in the Dingguan jing. The eventual breakthrough, then, is often
experienced as a sudden opening of consciousness and not as the gradual
emergence of a new state. Thus Chan masters speak of “sudden” enlighten¬
ment—unlike Daoists who emphasize the slow, one-by-one overcoming of
inherent patterns in gradual progress.

The Buddhist Dimension

115

Another aspect of Chan is koan practice, where adepts immerse themselves in
paradoxes, using them in a deep state of absorption to break open tire con¬
scious mind and let universal mind come to the fore. 3 While Daoists never
developed the paradox to quite this level or formality, the Zhuangsg contains
numerous examples. For example, there frequendy are questions like: “What is
really me?” “Where is there a true lord in the body?” “What is real?” “Am I
Zhuang Zhou dreaming that he is a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he is
Zhuang Zhou?” (ch. 2; Watson 1968, 38, 41, 49; Graham 1981, 58, 59, 61; see
also Hansen 2010). Similarly Zhuangzi tells Yan Hui to consider what it would
mean to “fly by being wingless, know by being ignorant” (ch. 4; Watson 1968,
58; Roth 2010, 198). The text constantly questions the relation of self, others,
and language: “Without an other, there is no self; without a self, there is no
choosing one tiling over another” (Graham 1981, 51). And: “The one and what
1 said about it make two, and two and the original one make three. If we go on
in this way, then even the cleverest mathematician can’t tell where we will end,
much less an ordinary person . . . Better not to move, but to let tilings be!”
(Watson 1968, 43; Graham 1981, 56; Roth 2010, 207).

Later Daoist texts, like the 'Kishengjing, use the same words on different levels
and with different nuances, such as when Laozi insists that he does not know
what good and evil are, then immediately states that “accumulating goodness”
is the key to perfection (37.6-7). In addition, Daoists have a long tradition of
eccentric and unpredictable sages and immortals, and on occasion report ab¬
surd dialogues, such as the one in the Tianjin%i, where the master either remains
silent when confronted with a question or responds entirely out of context.

One Chan text that shows the closest similarities to Daoist notions is the Unji
lu (Recorded Sayings of Linji), a collection of lectures by and stories

about the Chan master Linji Yixuan (d. 866), one of the best known

iconoclasts in the tradition. 4 He was ruthless when it came to eliminate sensory
and evaluative reactions:

Followers of the Way, if you want to get the kind of understanding that
accords with the dharma, never be misled by others. Whether you are
facing inward or facing outward, whatever you meet up with, just kill it!

If you meet a buddha, kill the buddha. If you meet a patriarch, kill the
patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat. If you meet your parents,

3 For koans and their practice, see Miura and Sasaki 1965; Austin 1998, 110-19;
Dumoulin 1979, 65-76; Heine 2002; Loori 2006; S. Suzuki 1970, 80-83; Watts 1957. About
1,700 koans were collected over the centuries, most in books like the Hekiganrokn (Blue Cliff
Record; trl. Cleary 1977) •xci&Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate; trl. Cleary 1993).

4 The text was probably edited and possibly even expanded by Song redactors, yet it
does reflect realities of Chan practice. See Welter 2008; Poceski 2009b.

116

Discussion

kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your kinfolk. Then for the
first time you will gain emancipation, will not be entangled with things,
will pass freely anywhere you wish to go. (Watson 1999, 52)

This closely reflects the vision of the ideal state in the Zhuang^i as the ability to
move about everywhere in ecstatic freedom. Another common point is the
perfected and Linji’s “true man without rank,” both living in ordinary society
yet being free from it. Without pretensions, he does whatever is necessary, me¬
nial or noble, important or petty: “When hungry, 1 eat; when thirsty, 1 drink”
(Schloegl 1976, 37, 52). In addition, the true man has the power to traverse
wide ranges and create harmony in the world around him:

Followers of the Way, he who at this moment, before my eyes is shining
alone and clearly listening to my discourse—this man tarries nowhere: he
traverses the ten directions and is freely himself in the Three Worlds. . .

In traveling everywhere through every land, in bringing enlightenment to
sentient beings, he is never separate from his present mind. Everywhere
is pure, light illumines the ten directions, and the ten thousand things are
one. (Sasaki 1975; Yixuan 1976)

Related Concepts

While Chan and Daoist masters both inherited and developed the ancient clas¬
sics, and the Zhuangsg in particular, Chan as part of the Mahayana tradition also
drew on a rich foundation of philosophical speculation and analysis which yet
in many ways matches Daoist concepts.

For example, in addition to working with die two trudts and four propositions
of the Madhyamaka—as Daoists do in the school of Twofold Mystery, where
oblivion is first formally featured—Chan adopts the vision of Avatamsaka sutra
( Huayan Flower Garland Sutra; trl. Cleary 1984) and sees the world
as one integrated whole. Unlike ancient Buddhist worldview where nirvana is
the “other shore,” the universe here is a complex network where every single
part is interconnected with every other and where all is mirrored endlessly in all
else (see Cook 1977; Gimello and Gregory 1983).

This closely matches the Daoist understanding of reality as consisting of inter¬
locking fields that each pulsate at their own rate. Chinese cosmology speaks of
them in terms of vibration and sound, all tilings having their own form or
shape which inevitably vibrates at a certain frequency, creating a certain wave
pattern and a specific sound. As a result, the entire universe is humming along
in the joining of many different ^/-sounds. The Zhuang^i accordingly talks about
the “piping of Humanity,” the energy waves people produce; the “piping of
Earth,” the vibrations of nature in different places; and the “piping of Heaven”

The Buddhist Dimension

117

the creation of the universe in its diversity through Dao. The description of the
“piping of earth” is most vivid and also applies to the other forms. The text
says:

They roar like waves, whistle like arrows, screech, gasp, cry, wail, moan,
howl. Those in the lead cry out yeee; those behind cry out yuuu. In a gentle
breeze, they answer faintly; but in a full gale, the chorus is gigantic. And
when the fierce wind has passed on, then all the hollows are empty again.
Have you never seen the tossing and trembling that goes on? (ch. 2)

These various fields can come into harmony with each other and mutually sup¬
port and increase their amplitude. But they can also interfere with each other
and create disturbances. Since all fields interlock, even a small disturbance in
any one of them carries into all the others. 5 This means that bodily transforma¬
tions are of unlimited possibilities and the mind is ultimately nonlocal: it can be
anywhere and exchange information with anything else instantaneously. It also
means that any effort on the part of the meditator to reach a state of spontane¬
ity or immediacy in absorption or oblivion makes a clear contribution to die
harmony and purity of the cosmos.

Another result of this vision of the world as fundamentally and intricately in¬
terconnected is that each individual takes part in the entirety of the universe at
all times and is, qua being human, fundamentally enlightened. The world as it is
in all its apparent instability ( samsdra ) is already and essentially the same as its
ultimate state {nirvana). There is nothing to do, nothing to attain, nowhere to go.
All aspects of existence are mirrored in all other aspects, without permanence,
stability, or individual nature.

This is what Chan Buddhists, following die lead of the Prajndparamitdsutra (Pan-
ruojing Perfection of Wisdom; trl. Conze 1978; 1990), mean by “emp¬

tiness,” the recognition of the interconnectedness of existence and the ultimate
identity of samsdra and nirvana. A short, comprehensive summary of these doc¬
trines, compiled in China in the sixth century but claimed to be of Indian origin
(see Nattier 1992), is die Xinjing (Heart Sutra). Placed in the mouth of the
bodhisattva Guanyin and consisting of only a few hundred characters, it em¬
phasizes the fundamentally empty nature of all perceived existence, going one
by one through the different skandhas or constituents of the mind. The text
spread widely in the Tang and is still the most recited sutra in East Asia, to¬
gether with the Jin’gang jingJtM. |(J|M (Diamond Sutra; trl. Price and Wong 1969)
playing a key role in modern Zen (Glassman 2000, 29-35).

5 This vision of interlocking fields is not only common among medieval Chinese Dao-
ists and Huayan Buddhists but also closely matches the understanding of the universe in
quantum physics. For details, see Bohm 1951; Capra 1975; Nadeau and Kefatos 1999.

118

Discussion

The Daoist match of the Xinjing is the Humingjing HtftplM (Scripture on Pro¬
tecting Life, DZ 19; trl. Assandri 2009, 216-18), revealed by the Heavenly Wor¬
thy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi tianzun TCtS^^)- Its next incarnation is
the Qingjingxinjing (Heart Scripture of Clarity and Stillness, DZ 1169),

which consists of about 600 characters and probably goes back to the eighth
century (see Kamata 1966; Fukui 1987; Schmidt in Schipper and Verellen 2004,
316). 6 Placed in the mouth of Lord Lao, it begins with a general description of
Daoist cosmology in terms of yin and yang, pure and turbid, stillness and agita¬
tion. It then focuses on the mind and its power of either creating purity or dis¬
turbance and the need to eliminate desires. Next, it distinguishes three kinds of
observation, resulting in the full perception of all reality as empty while yet real¬
izing that nothing is really empty:

Inwardly observe the mind and see that there is no mind.

Outwardly observe the body and see that there is no body.

Far off observe all beings and see that there are no beings.

These three not seen any longer, one sees only emptiness.

Observe emptiness and see that it is indeed empty—

Yet there is nothing that is empty, (la)

Outlining the process toward “attaining Dao,” from the elimination of desires
through stillness of mind to clarity of spirit, it reiterates once more that “there
is nothing to attain.” In the next section, it moves in the opposite direction and
describes how one falls deeper and deeper into the rebirth cycle when one be¬
gins to perceive anything as “real,” eventually undergoing the suffering of hell
and being forever separate from Dao. It concludes with a set of verses praising
the pure mind—again using imagery that is also found in Chan: ‘Your clear
mind like a clear mirror: there are no more obstacles. No obstacles, no mind:
the mind just rests in itself.”

To sum up, Daoist oblivion as described in Tang-dynasty sources is closely
connected to Buddhist theory and practice, yet it also maintains its own
uniqueness. Continuing to be true to the Zhuang^i and pursuing their own spe¬
cific goals, Daoists reconceptualize Buddhist features as much as they adapt
them into their own repertoire. The close similarity, moreover, between obliv¬
ion and Chan—both arising in the seventh-to-eighth centuries on similar foun¬
dations—allows us to classify them as one single type of meditation. This “im-

6 Its more popular and still much recited version is the Qjngjingjing '(^fff|S(Scripture
of Clarity and Stillness, DZ 620; see Schmidt in Schipper and Verellen 2004, 332-33 and
728-29, various commentaries); also translated in Kohn 1993a, 24-29; Komjathy 2008, #3;
Wong 1992.

The Buddhist Dimension

119

mediacy,” as I have called it (2008a, 97), is clearly distinct as a type from all the
others: neither oblivion nor Chan can be reduced to insight meditation, body
energetics, visualization, or mere concentration. They may make use of the dif¬
ferent techniques, as Sima clearly does in Iris Zuowang lun, but their core is the
“dropping off of body and mind,” the liberation from all personal identity, the
freedom of oneness with Buddha-nature or Dao.

Tang writers, moreover, show that people at the time did not make too much
of a distinction between the schools. Thus the poet Bai Juyi ^ JUJtr describes
taking refuge in meditation practice when suffering from profound grief after
his mother’s death in 814:

My breath disturbed, I return to absorption and stability.

Visualizing spirit, I enter a state of sitting in oblivion.

Cutting off doubts, I pursue the sword of wisdom,

Being saved from suffering, I reach the lifeboat of compassion.

(Ch’en 1973: 197)

This shows the intricate mix of practices as understood at the time. Bo Juyi
begins with calming his breath and reaching a state of mental calm, described in
both Buddhist and Daoist terms, then reaches through visualization to oblivion
as outlined in the Zuowang lun and Tianjingi. From here, he comes to hold die
“sword of wisdom,” both a Buddhist term and a key idea in the Zuowang lun, to
end on a clearly Buddhist note: traversing the sea of suffering in die “lifeboat
of compassion.”

Chapter Eight

Western Appreciation

Sitting in oblivion as outlined in the Tang sources comprises a series of tech¬
niques leading to the transformation and transcendence of personal self-
identity in favor of oneness with Dao. These techniques include breath control
and mental calming as much as restructuring of the body, detached observation,
and introvert, enstatic absorption. Many of them have been adapted into a
modern Western context. However, given the predilection of modernity with
mundane success, they have in many cases been reoriented to serve more prac¬
tical goals, such as self-improvement, healing, stress-reduction, pain-manage¬
ment, and increased productivity. Thus present-day psychology postulates the
aims of meditation as being control over the mind, increase in psychological
well-being, and development of advanced states of consciousness (Walsh 1984,
24). Also, given the modern preoccupation with science and technology, the
techniques have been tested, evaluated, and reinterpreted in terms of physiol¬
ogy and neuroscience, made measurable in brain waves, blood pressure, neuro¬
transmitters, endocrine activity, and the like.

This holds particularly true for the more elementary—and thus more easily
accessible—practices of breath control and concentration as well as for basic
methods of insight or mindfulness. Although it is regrettable that healing as a
goal and scientific justification may in some cases reduce the power of the prac¬
tices and somatize their understanding, the explanations of scientific studies
help explain just why traditional texts demand specific methods and report cer¬
tain effects.

Deep absorptive states and the complete “dropping off of body and mind”
have so far escaped both the popular health quest and scientific pigeon-holing.
Less prominent in modern societies, they are still the domain of long-term

120

Western Appreciation

121

dedicated practitioners who seek transcendence and complete loss of identity
rather than healing, efficiency, or stress release. Their efforts take place both
beyond and within organized traditions, and some techniques—notably those
of Buddhist heritage—are more widely known than others. A well-documented
example of a non-traditional, very modern path that yet closely matches the
transformation and vision of oblivion appears in the works of David Hawkins.
Seeing this in comparison with the Tang masters’ works reveals just how uni¬
versal these practices and their goals are and how relevant sitting in oblivion
can be in present-day society.

Deep Breathing

Modern societies are becoming increasingly conscious about the importance of
breathing deeply, calmly, and with awareness in order to maintain and enhance
health, well-being, and optimal functioning. Science has shown a clear connec¬
tion between shallow breathing and stress, tension, and anxiety as well as be¬
tween short, truncated breaths and heart disease and cardio-pulmonary ail¬
ments in a phenomenon known as the hyperventilatory response. Extremely
widespread in modern societies, where deep abdominal breathing often ceases
already in childhood, these various psychological ailments benefit tremendously
from beginning meditation exercises which focus attention on the respiration,
deepening and lengthening the breath.

More specifically, breathing serves to bring oxygen into the bloodstream and
the circulatory system of the body while at the same time releasing carbon diox¬
ide back into the atmosphere. As the diaphragm, the muscle that divides the
lungs from tire intestinal cavity, contracts, air is sucked into tire lungs and ide¬
ally spreads into their far reaches, widening the space between the ribs and
oxygenating the body. The lungs extract oxygen from the air and channel it into
the bloodstream from where it goes into the heart and the brain and then
throughout the body to nourish all of its cells. Blood that has been depleted of
oxygen and instead carries carbon dioxide is then transported back to the heart
through the veins, from where the lungs take over and expel tire carbon dioxide
in exhalation.

The process of breathing is intimately connected to the autonomic nervous
system, which “oversees the body’s vital functions through subconscious sig¬
nals that originate in the anterior cyngulate gyms and are relayed to the hypo¬
thalamus and spinal cord” (Ratey 2002, 171). It has two branches: the sympa¬
thetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is the energiz¬
ing part. It puts people into a state of readiness to meet challenges or danger,
causing nerve endings to emit neurotransmitters that stimulate the adrenal
glands to secrete powerful hormones which increase the heartbeat and the rate

122

Discussion

of breathing. They also influence the digestion, speeding up the metabolic func¬
tion through increased acid secretion in the stomach. The parasympathetic
nervous system, on the other hand, activates neurotransmitters like acetylcho¬
line that lower the pulse and respiratory rate. Its responses are comfort, relaxa¬
tion, and sleep. Any method of relaxation stimulates die parasympathetic nerv¬
ous system and slows down the breath (2002, 172-74).

People are either in one or the other mode. If the sympathetic nervous system
is “on,” the parasympathetic is “off,” and vice versa. Both, moreover, connect
closely to the endocrine system which manages the hormones that control
growth, activity levels, and sexuality. Endocrine glands secrete hormones
known as endorphins and enkephalins that modulate reactions to stress and
pain, affect moods and appetite, and support abilities of learning and memory.
The more one is in the parasympathetic mode, as stimulated by quiet sitting
and deep breathing, the better the endocrine system can do its work and the
stronger one’s immune system becomes. This, in a nutshell, explains why so
many people today suffer from stress related ailments while practitioners of
yoga, qigong, and meditation enjoy health and vitality and why all meditation
systems begin with calming the breath. 1

Calming the Mind

The breath, moreover, is often the main vehicle for calming the mind to a state
of concentration, which meditation traditions use in two major forms: access
and attainment. Access concentration is the foundation of all further practice,
the basic level of mental focus and sensory calm necessary to engage in ad¬
vanced methods. Attainment concentration is the complete one-pointedness of
attention, the utter absorption in a single object, a state of inner bliss and obliv¬
ion, the overcoming of ego and identity. What Westerners commonly mean
when they speak of the “meditative state” and what many scientific studies fo¬
cus on is access concentration, a rather elementary achievement from the per¬
spective of the old traditions.

To achieve basic concentration, then, practitioners focus their attention on the
breath by anchoring it in one of three main modes of human perception. Kin-
esthetically they feel it either as it enters and leaves the nostrils or as it expands
and flattens the abdomen (Rosenberg 1998, 24-25). Visually they link it with a
simple and steady image, such as a vase, geometric diagram, image, or statue
(Bucknell and King 1997, 41-52). Auditorily they associate it with certain words

1 On the physiology of breathing and the autonomic nervous system, see Altose and
Kawakami 1999; Borysenko 1987, 55-68; Fried 1993; 1999; Loehr and Migdow 1986; Von
Euler and Lagercrantz 1987.

Western Appreciation

123

matching die inhalation and/or exhalation (such as “in-out”), by counting each
breath up to a certain number, or by linking it with a prayer or chant (Easwaran
1990,15).

Undertaken in a quiet setting and in a comfortable position with eyes closed or
lowered and pursued for at least twenty minutes at a stretch, the basic practice
is to remain focused. Usually the mind wanders away, chasing after thoughts,
memories, and ideas. Rather than being exasperated and impatient, the point of
the exercise is to become fully aware of the present moment, notice the mind’s
shenanigans, and bring it back to the breath—thousands of times if necessary.
Eventually it calms down and is able to remain focused for a minute or more at
a time. To use Larry Rosenberg’s metaphor, from a mind unfocused like a
sniffing dog, practitioners should strive to attain a mind like a sitting lion, ma¬
jestically focused on the source (1998, 22).

Sitting quietly, breathing deeply, and calming the mind create a fundamental
state of relaxation which, when combined with increased focus and heightened
awareness, has a direct effect on brain chemistry and wave patterns. While the
conscious mind works largely in beta waves, when quieted it changes to alpha, a
state found in beginning practitioners. More advanced disciples or people in
more absorbed concentration may also enter states dominated by theta waves
that indicate a profoundly calm,yet conscious state (Shapiro and Walsh 1984,
363-534). Deep relaxation signaled by these patterns activates the parasympa¬
thetic response, increases subjective well-being, and has various beneficial ef¬
fects.

However, its attainment is not the sole domain of meditation, and studies have
shown that “resemblances undoubtedly exist between the meditative experi¬
ence and that induced in various relaxation therapies, such as self-hypnosis,
progressive relaxation, autogenic therapy, and perhaps biofeedback training”
(Davidson 1984, 377). Since it is not usually possible to relate a particular effect
on a person’s subjective well-being to a specific method of relaxation employed,
there is no one effect of concentrative meditation significantly different from
that of comparable practices (Bono 1984, 209). Rather, “all that is clearly estab¬
lished ... is the hardly surprising conclusion that meditators are in a state of
relaxation” (Davidson 1984, 381). In other words, meditation methods—at
least as used in modern societies under laboratory conditions—“are no better
or any more effective than other kinds of relaxation and stress-reduction tech¬
niques” (Ospina et al. 2007, 4).

That said, modern physicians and psychologists make use of several practices
simplified from traditional meditation systems to help patients release stress,
reduce pain, and enhance well-being. Best known among them is the Relaxa¬
tion Response, developed by Herbert Benson of Harvard University on the
basis of Transcendental Meditation, a chanting-based concentration practice

124

Discussion

popular in the 1960s and 70s. Its practice involves sitting or lying comfortably,
closing the eyes, and breathing through the nose while repeating a word or
phrase of choice—often inspired by religious beliefs—either vocally or men¬
tally. The practice should be continued for twenty minutes while maintaining a
receptive, passive attitude and permitting relaxation to occur at its own pace.
The Relaxation Response has been found most effective in relieving pain and
anxiety. Patients working with the repeated utterance of a word, chant, or
prayer relax deeply. This state encourages natural healing or allows a gradual
drifting into death ( Benson 1976; 1996; Benson and Proctor 1985; Fried 1993,
240-42).

Another method that uses concentration for healing works with visual methods
adopted from hypnosis and is somewhat closer to Daoist practice. The Quiet¬
ing Response by C. E. Stroebel consists of a series of ten exercises to be prac¬
ticed daily over six months. The first exercise is to lie down and be comfortable
with eyes closed. Next comes deep, easy breathing, followed by a series of gen¬
tle arm movements and face massages. This leads to visualization: patients are
to imagine a spot of warm sunlight above their head and to feel their body as a
hollow vessel. They then imagine the warm sunlight slowly seeping into die
vessel, moving freely through chest and abdomen, arms and legs. Another visu¬
alization, while still paying attention to breathing, is to focus on a spot before
their nose where they r imagine a ball of blue, cooling energy. Allowing their
mind to be filled with this energy, they float in a space of suspended thinking,
deeply relaxed. From this state, they then conduct a review of their day, seeing
their activities in reverse order as if on a movie screen while remaining calm
and detached (Fried 1993, 242-43; Stroebel 1982). 2

To sum up, deep breathing and basic concentration practice, at the foundation
of sitting in oblivion and other forms of meditation, have a profound impact
on human physiology and neurology, activating the parasympathetic nervous
system and creating an inner state of receptivity and calm. This state is essen¬
tially a form of relaxation, which can also be achieved by other methods. While
people today may be content with its healing and stress-reducing benefits, tradi¬
tional Daoists use it as a stepping stone toward advanced transformations of
the body and subtler explorations of the mind.

2 For other stress-reduction methods and the possible use of Daoist methods in this
context, see Santee 2008.

Western Appreciation

125

Adjusting the Body

Another important basic step in the Daoist system is the alignment and healing
of the body, which means matching the patterns of yin and yang, avoiding pol¬
luted situations and substances, and strengthening the overall energetic network.
Matching this in the West, the science of behavioral kinesiology—with recent
support in the newly developing fields of energy medicine and energy psychol¬
ogy 3 —has developed a system that supports everything Daoists (and Chinese
medical practitioners) say about the nature of body, self, and society. It also
recommends a series of measures—social, physical, and psychological—to en¬
hance bodily well-being which are very much in agreement with those de¬
scribed by Sun Simiao and Sima Chengzhen.

Kinesiology is the science of movement: how to move the body and use its
joints, tendons, and muscles to create maximum efficiency and best perform¬
ance. It is best known from sports culture and studied widely in departments of
physical education at Western universities (see Luttgens and Wells 1989). Be¬
havioral kinesiology adds the dimension of personal perfection into the mix:
the attainment of health, the extension of life expectancy, and the realization of
virtues and inherent goodness in self and society. In other words, it is the study
of how we can realize ideal health and harmony by living and moving our bod¬
ies most efficiently.

The key factor in behavioral kinesiology, as described by John Diamond (1978),
is the thymus gland. Located in the solar plexus, it was already seen by die an¬
cient Greeks as the central seat of vitality. “Thymus is the stuff of life, vapor¬
ous breath, active, energetic feeling and blinking, a material very much related
to blood” (Spencer 1993, 47). The gland, although known to exist, was ignored
in Western medicine for the longest time as not having a specific function,
since it—like essence in Chinese medicine and Daoism—grows during puberty,
is reduced in adulthood, shrinks to a miniscule size during sickness, and shrivels
up completely after death (Diamond 1978, 10). More recent studies have
shown that the thymus gland, like the central elixir field and power house of qi,
is the center of immunological surveying and works to produce lymphocytes,

3 Energy medicine is developing a more scientific vocabulary for ^/-related phenomena,
such as bio-electricity, the living matrix, cytoskeleton, tensegrity, and so on, seeing the body
increasingly as an integrated, coordinated, successful system. See Oschman 2000. Energy
psychology works with the aura as much as with the meridians of the Chinese and the chak¬
ras of the Indian systems; it is developing energetic methods such as tapping to release psy¬
chological tensions and bring out positive change. See Feinstein et al. 2005, 201 Gach and
Henning 2004; Gallo 2004. For a more detailed discussion of kinesiology and Daoism, see
my paper on “Daoist Body Cultivatin and Behavioral Kinesilogy” ( http://www.daoist-
studies.orq/dao/node/11739 ).

126

Discussion

i.e., the white blood cells responsible for the immunological reaction in the
body. Connected energetically to all the different organs and extremities of the
body, it prevents disease and cancer if kept strong (1978, 28-29).

The lower elixir field, the center of transformation in Daoist practice, moreover,
in Western physiology matches die abdominal brain, the seat of spontaneous
intelligence, in the vernacular described as gut feelings or intuition. A popular
medical idea in the late nineteenth century (see Bedell 1885), it has re-emerged
in recent research as die seat of an active enteric nervous system that governs
the well-being of the person (McMillin et al. 1999). Its activation is best known
from Zen practice, which requires a tightly held upright posture as well as con¬
scious breathing and control over the diaphragm (Sekida 1975, 84).

Another Daoist practice that finds a match in science is placing the tongue at
the roof of the mouth—used to establish an energy circuit of the channels in
front and back of the torso. Modern kinesiologists call this the “centering but¬
ton,” a place that opens the body’s central power lines and releases stress
(Diamond 1978, 31). In addition, matching traditional healing exercises and
modern qigong, kinesiologists have found that when there is too much syn¬
chronous activity on either side of the body, it will suffer a cerebral-hemisphere
imbalance and weakened muscles, a state they describe as “switching” (1978,
40). In other words, the subtle energy lines of the body need to be activated by
using die opposite arm and leg as much as possible, creating a sense of good
body coordination. The lines are also impacted by any kind of metal that may
be placed in the body’s center and prevent proper energetic integration (1978,
43). Positive energy is further enhanced by wide, open gestures, such as the
spreading of arms in a blessing or the welcoming of loved ones at a reunion
(1978, 49)—movements often seen in Chinese exercises where qi is gathered or
spread by opening the arms wide.

Practices to stimulate the thymus gland and increase vitality as outlined in be¬
havioral kinesiology closely match the repertoire of traditional Daoists:

—deep abdominal breathing and control of the diaphragm;

—self-massages of the chest and front line (Conception Vessel) of the torso;
—tapping of major energy centers, especially the center of the chest;

—upright posture that allows an equal flow of energy in all parts of the body;
—conscious movement that alternates the body’s two sides;

—emotional refinement toward feelings of love and caring;

—careful selection of food, avoiding processed, or chemically altered items;

—wearing loose and pure clothes, using natural fibers;

—environmental care, providing good air, light, housing, and natural settings;
—support for peace in the world and the creation of a harmonious society
(Diamond 1978).

Western Appreciation

127

Within this overall framework, John Diamond has a few specific recommenda¬
tions. Most generally, he suggests that one should find a “homing” thought, a
mental vision of oneself in a pleasant and stress-free situation, such as in nature,
on a beach, or with loved ones, and practice smiling both inwardly and to oth¬
ers, to create an internal harmony and relax die facial muscles (1978, 47, 49).
He also emphasizes the energetic benefits of beauty, as found in poetry, music,
painting, art, and natural landscapes and suggests that one should regularly take
so-called energy breaks by reciting poetry, looking at nature, viewing a painting,
or walk about with the arms swinging (1978, 39). All these are practices Daoists
have embraced for centuries, living in beautiful natural settings, pursuing arts
and music, and practicing calming meditations, where the facial muscles are
relaxed and the internal organs viewed with sympathy and kindness and ener¬
gized dirough the presence of body gods.

In addition to widely recognized pollutants, such as denatured food, neon lights,
smoking, and various irritating chemicals, Diamond also advises against contact
with ugly sights and shrill or intensely pulsing sounds since they lead to “thera¬
peutic weakening” (1978, 62). This matches traditional Daoist rules against en¬
ergetic pollution through encounters with dirt, death, or violence (see Kohn
2004a). Diamond especially singles out the weakening agents of aggressive art
work and advertising as well as noise pollution through traffic, television, and
rock music (1978, 65-66). In terms of practical objects, he suggests avoiding the
use of sunglasses, wrist watches, nylon hats, wigs, and high heels as well as of
metal chairs and seat cushions, mattresses, sheets, and clothing made from syn¬
thetic fabrics (1978, 74-77)—a list that echoes die requirements for strict sim¬
plicity in the furnishing of the oratory as much as the lifestyle of ^•uowang fol¬
lowers.

Detached Observation

To transform the mind, moreover, Daoists develop “perfect observation,”
which in modern societies is best documented in the form of insight meditation,
the empowering of the witness consciousness or observing faculty of the mind
that guides practitioners to a state where they can simultaneously feel an ex¬
perience and see it from a distance. Used today both in religious or medical
settings, it trains practitioners to strengthen their faculty of detached observa¬
tion and learn to develop a fundamental attitude of non-judgment, patience,
acceptance, and trust, with a particular emphasis on non-striving, letting be, and
allowing tilings to happen. They understand that they cannot change reality but
have to accept it as it is and instead of passing judgment should cultivate a
beginner’s mind, the ability to see every moment afresh and with new eyes.

128

Discussion

Doing so increases the activities of the right brain hemisphere, which—unlike
the planning and controlling done by die left—is given toward the artistic and
works in a more receptive mode of being. It also activates the parasympathetic
nervous system and stimulates alpha and theta waves. The observing self as
established in insight practice is a way of allowing both sides to integrate har¬
moniously. It is not part of the subjective oneness of die right hemisphere, nor
can it be controlled and objectified as an outside entity. It is deeply part of the
person and represents a totally subjective answer to the question of “who am
I,” yet it also has the detachment and distance needed for critical awareness and
decision-making (see Deikman 1982).

Another scientifically shown effect of insight meditation is the transformation
of emotional patterns. Emotions “provide a quick, general assessment of the
person’s situation that draws on powerful internal and external value” (Ratey
2002, 171). They relay essential information to the amygdala, the principal
pleasure center in the brain which provides a preconscious bias of intensity to
every stimulus and classifies all reactions to sensory data in terms of aggressive
or defensive (2002, 174). Emotions divide into two major types: bad and good,
pleasant and unpleasant. Usually tire bad, unpleasant emotions are afflictive,
negative, and destructive; they tend to cause people to withdraw or move away
from the object or circumstance that caused them. Good, pleasant emotions
are beneficial, positive, and engaging; they make people approach and seek out
the object or circumstance that caused diem (Goleman 1997, 34).

In terms of brain chemistry, withdrawal reactions are located in the right frontal
cortex, while approach reactions are activated in the left frontal cortex. People
are born with a tendency toward one or the other dominant activation, but this
inherent pattern can also be changed through learning and systematic training.
Overall, people who have more right frontal cortex activity are more emotion¬
ally volatile. They get sick easier, have a harder time recovering, suffer from
numerous ailments, have difficulty in their community because of their actions,
and die earlier. People with dominantly left frontal cortex activity are more
positive, don’t submit to stress, will not catch colds even if exposed to germs,
and live longer and happier lives (Goleman 1997, 68-69; see also Begley 2007,
226-33; Ratey 2002, 232-42). Mindfulness practice has been found particularly
effective in enhancing die activity of the left frontal cortex and thus the crea¬
tion of positive, community-connecting emotions (Goleman 1997, 69-71; see
also Goleman 2003). 4

4 This effect of the practice is used increasingly in a medical setting, following a model
pioneered by jon Kabat-Zinn of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massa¬
chusetts Medical Center in Worcester. For detail of his program and work, see Kabat-Zinn
1990; 2005. An East Asian variant is the Japanese therapy of Naikan (adopting the Daoist

Western Appreciation

129

In other words, the practice of detached observation along the lines of tradi¬
tional mindfulness meditation in modern Western settings is associated with
the reduction of negative emotions and the strengthening of positive attitudes
toward self and society. This effect has been linked convincingly with die right
frontal cortex and connected to the concept of neuroplasticity, the understand¬
ing that the brain can be shaped even after many years of ingrained use.

Integrated Personality

Anotlier effect of mindfulness meditation is the integration of the personality
on a different level, one that is reached by seeing the world increasingly as flow.
Doing so, practitioners come to understand that neither mind nor self are im¬
mutable or firm entities, that life is constantly changing and essentially unsatis¬
factory, and that contentment can only be found in the present moment—all
features clearly formulated in section 5 of the Zuowang lun.

To study this effect Daniel Brown and Jack Engler presented insight practitio¬
ners in the Burmese lineage of the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw with the Ror¬
schach test, a method that reveals a person’s perception of reality and inner
conflict structure in the way he associates patterns on the basis of inkblots.

The subjects of the study were ranked according to five levels: beginners, con¬
centration practitioners, insight meditators, advanced insight meditators, and
enlightened masters. While beginners were no different from ordinary people,
those on levels two and three exhibited signs of relaxation and greater levels of
concentration. A major change was found among subjects of the fourth group,
who had pursued the practice intensely for many years, making it tire main fo¬
cus of their lives. They tended to “perceive the inkblots as an interaction of
form and energy or form and space. That is, each of the subjects, in several
responses, perceived the inkblot primarily as energy-in-motion or as empty
space” (Brown and Engler 1984, 245). Moreover, the energies were often seen
as energies within the human body: “The number of references to bodily parts
and internal organs and the psychic energy centers within the body is very high.
One possible interpretation of this contiguity between body and energy re¬
sponses is that insight into bodily (and mental) processes becomes a vehicle
through which to observe the fundamental energy transformations of body/
mind/universe” (1984, 248).

This description of the newly developed worldview of advanced insight practi¬
tioners matches the observation section of the Zuowang lun closely. Here, too,

term neiguan ), developed in the 1950s by Ishin Yoshimoto. It involves an intensive
introspection and release of emotions in a retreat-like setting (Reynolds 1983; Krech 2002).

130

Discussion

adepts reorganize their perception in terms of flowing energy, seeing everything
as impersonal changing transformations. The body becomes the habitation of
the spirit, the vessel of Dao, and is no longer seen as having any solid reality of
its own. Where concentration was used to empty the mind, observation is ap¬
plied to till it again with new modes of perception.

The final state of unified consciousness, an utter oneness with Dao, is charac¬
terized by a complete loss of ego-identity. “Unify your mind with Heaven,’’ the
Zuowang lun admonishes its readers, “and you will have no more knowledge.
Unify your body with Dao and you will be free from all bodily structure.” Full
enlightenment, too, as formulated in Western psychological terms, means that
the individual’s “intrapsychic structure has undergone a radical enduring reor¬
ganization” (Brown and Engler 1984, 260). The result is a mature and true be¬
ing, “a whole unified person whose internal psychic differentiation and organi¬
zation would simply represent his diversified interests and abilities” (1984, 260).

This maturity of a unified consciousness is obvious in the Rorschach data in
two unusual features. First, the enlightened master “sees the inkblot itself as a
projection of the mind. . . . the testing situation is a projection of the mind in a
certain sense” (1984, 249). Second, the full set of ten cards is integrated into “a
systematic discourse on the Buddhist teachings pertaining to the alleviation of
human suffering.” Such an integration without any “significant departure from
reality” is extremely rare, it has also been found in the testing results of an
Apache shaman who—like the Buddhist master—’’used the ten cards as an
occasion to teach the examiner about his lived worldview” (1984, 260).

What Daoists mean when they speak of having attained “union with Dao in
mind and body” can therefore be expressed in modern psychological terms as
having reached a state of perceptual unity after many years of dedicated prac¬
tice. Any individual personal life is fully dissolved into Dao or any other greater
source of being, adepts no longer conceive of themselves as persons with a
certain knowledge, history, or identity, but rather as part of a greater entity
which works through them to the best benefit of all. Whether this is ultimately
appealing to Westerners with their strong sense of self and visions of pleasur¬
able fulfillment remains to be seen.

Western Appreciation

131

The Presence

One Westerner who has achieved complete union is David R. Hawkins (b.
1927), a psychiatrist who first studied at Marquette University, then earned an
M.D. from the Medical College in Wisconsin (1953). Working as a psychiatrist
in New York, he became deathly ill and underwent a spiritual rebirth which led
to an expansion of his practice. In 1968, he met John Diamond, learned about
behavioral kinesiology, and got involved in the field. As part of a large-scale
experiment, Hawkins did extensive testing on thousands of subjects in many
different cultures and eventually established a universal scale for the moral and
spiritual potential of the world at large.

This scale places people’s responses in a range from 20 to 1000, with a water¬
shed—the realm of courage—at 200. Anything below means people work en¬
tirely toward survival and generate wide ranges of negative emotions, such as
fear, worry, anger, hatred, greed, and pride—feelings that pull the person away
from Dao and in traditional China are associated with the material soul. Above
200, more intellectual and spiritual values dominate, including trust, goodwill,
forgiveness, love, and reverence to the point of sagely qualities such as serenity
and bliss—attitudes that support the spirit soul and unfolding of higher values.
On the basis of this work Hawkins earned a Ph. D. from Columbia Pacific
University in 1995 (see Hawkins 2002a). He then spent the next decades au¬
thoring a series of books that combine his personal quest with kinesiological
testing. Currendy retired, he resides in Sedona and does occasional interviews
with alternative and spiritual groups, such as Beyond the Ordinary (www.be-
yondtheordinary.net).

As regards his spiritual journey, the first experience of an altered state he recalls
was at age 12 he was a paperboy in rural Wisconsin and found himself in a 10-
below blizzard. 5 While nestled in a snow bank for safety, he had a miraculous
transformative experience. ”1 became oblivious of my physical body and sur¬
roundings as my awareness fused with this all-present illuminated state. My
mind grew silent; all thought stopped. An infinite Presence was all that was or
could be, beyond time or description” (2002a, 293). The Presence helped him
during World War II, but he did not acknowledge it as something spiritual or
divine, the overall stupidity and suffering of humanity causing him to become
an agnostic.

In 1965, when he was 38 year old, he succumbed to a fatal disease which did
not respond to any available treatment. In his final moments, as he felt himself

5 The following biography follows Hawkins’s own account in Hawkins 2002a. It is
summarized comprehensively onwww.consciousnessproject.org.

132

Discussion

dying, l ie called out: “If there is a God, I ask him to help me now.” The reac¬
tion was immediate. He was submerged in a profoundly altered state:

The person I had been no longer existed. There was no personal self or
ego, only an Infinite Presence of such unlimited power that it was all that
was. This Presence had replaced what had been ‘me,’ and my body and
its actions were controlled solely by the Infinite Will of the Presence.

The world was illuminated by the clarity of an Infinite Oneness which
expressed itself as all things revealed in their infinite beauty and perfec¬
tion. (2002a, 294)

This state of clarity and stillness persisted for a total of nine months. It in¬
volved complete oblivion of self and others:

That which is the Self is total and complete. It is equally present every¬
where. There are no needs, no desires, or lack. ... A glance a the body
reveals it to be the same as everything else—unowned, unpossessed by
an individual, equal to the furniture or other objects and merely part of
all that is. There is nothing personal about the body and no identification
with it. It moves about spontaneously, correctly executes its bodily func¬
tions, and effortlessly walks and breathes. It is self-propelled and its ac¬
tions are determined and activated by the Presence. (2002a, 4)

Like Liezi’s Master Hua who forgot everything, Hawkins seemed unable to
function effectively in the world and, although friends and colleagues urged
him to return to his practice, he found litde motivation to do so. Living with¬
drawn and being taken care of by others, he gradually returned to Iris field, de¬
veloping a new way of looking at human psychology and suffering. He under¬
stood that the origin of emotional sickness lay in people’s belief that
they were their personalities and was tire consequence of the illusion of the ego,
what medieval Chinese call illusory mental projections. “It was clear that all
pain and suffering arises from the ego and not from God,” he says (2002b, 340).

Eventually he resumed his clinical practice. Examining patients, he would see
to their core with a sense of universal love and sympathy, and they would get
better. Effecting almost miraculous cures, his fame spread, and people came
from all over die United States. Over die following few years, he built the larg¬
est psychiatric practice in New York, widi fifty dierapists and other employees,
treating thousands of patients each year.

In 1983, he had another mystical experience:

The Presence suddenly intensified until every thing and person, which
had appeared separate in ordinary perception, melted into a timeless uni¬
versality and oneness. In the motionless Silence, I saw that there are no
“events or “things” and that nothing actually “happens,” because past,

Western Appreciation

133

present, and future are merely an artifact of perception, as is the illusion
of a separate “I” subject to birth and death.

As the limited, false self dissolved into the universal Self of its true origin,
there was an ineffable sense of having returned home, a state of absolute
peace and relief from all suffering. For it is only the illusion of individu¬
ality that is the origin of all suffering; when one realizes that one is the
universe, complete and at one with all that is, forever without end, then
no further suffering is possible. (2002a, 297)

Following this, he closed his practice and went into writing and research,
founding die Institute for Advanced Spiritual Research and giving lectures
around the world.

His outline of the path to advanced spiritual states in many ways resembles die
^■uowang literature of the Tang, just as applied kinesiology matches die key Dao-
ist energy lines and centers in die body and recommends a similar mix of
physical, breathing, and meditative practices. Hawkins’s outline begins with
“one-pointedness of mind, the capacity for concentration and an unwavering
fixity of focus,” which “requires intense motivation and devotion,” a total
commitment to the task (2003, 27). It serves to quiet the mind, a “non-stop
talking machine widi a constant barrage of endless thoughts, ideas, concepts,
leanings, memories, plans, apprehensions, doubts, repetitions, and nonsense
verses” (2002a, 95-96). Once the mind is calmed, observation can set in, “re¬
maining consistendy aware of the totality of one’s surroundings, with no focus,
interest or selection” (2003, 28). Then again, a deeper level of concentration or
one-pointed focus is attained. He compares it to target practice, and notes that
it lets all thought stop: “Although the focus may shift from one object to an¬
other as required by die activity involved, the quality of absolute attention and
focus remains the same” (2003, 29). Either way, the Presence becomes real and
the world recedes as one find the ultimate state and lives in spontaneity:

Stilled by the Silence of the Presence, the mind is silent and wordless. No
images, concepts, or thoughts occur. There is no one to think them.

With no person present, there is neither thinker nor doer. All is happen¬
ing of itself, as an aspect of the Presence. (2002a, 5)

To sum up, while many of the practices associated widi oblivion as an inte¬
grated system are still present today—as much as ^uon'ang itself is still practiced
in Daoist communities—the focus for the most part has shifted toward the
more immediate gratification of modern desires: stress release, pain control,
healing, and enhanced success and well-being. In addition, there are certain
branches of modern science, such as kinesiology and energy medicine, that al¬
low the integration of traditional Daoist views of body and mind into a con-

134

Discussion

temporary scientific framework and are shaping current new developments.
Most impressive of all, there are practitioners today—both within and beyond
traditional organizations—who are experiencing states that are very much like
oblivion and recommend highly similar methods toward their attainment. Dao-
ist sitting in oblivion and other forms of practice, it becomes clear, still have to
make valuable contributions to people’s lives today.

Translation

Text One

Sitting in Oblivion 1

Sima Chengzhen

Preface by the Recluse Zhenjing

[DZ la] When Heaven and Earth first separated and the three powers took
their positions, humanity’s place was in the center between Heaven and Earth
with the five qi coming together to form people’s body-self. Therefore they
could live long. Later, however, people obscured their inner nature, subdued
their spirit, constricted their qi, and wasted their essence. For this reason their
lives were no longer in harmony with Heaven and Earth; on the contrary, they
accepted their crippled shortness [of life] and were sweet in their hearts about it
[Zuo^huan (Mr. Zuo's Commentary), Zhuang 9; Shijing (Book of
Odes), Ode 62], I always feel intense pain about this state.

1 The following translation is based on the edition in DZ 1036, but occasional re¬
course has been taken to its variant in Yunji qiqian [abbr. YQ] 94. The latter version is also
found in Quan Tangmn 924. In case of discrepancies, I have preferred the YQ version and
indicated it in a note.

Generally, the DZ numeration of the seven steps does not appear in the YQ. The YQ
regularly substitutes the final particle er _Lf for er flf and often has the demonstrative ci jtt
instead of si Hff. It also always inserts gu before a quotation, and says Zhuang^iyue jfJrypEI
rather than Zhuangjue ) 151®

References to texts cited are placed in brackets in the text. Abbreviations include
“DD|” for Daodejing, “XSJ” for ~Xishengjing, and “ZZ” for Zhuang. gr. References to the letter
follow A Concordance to Chuang-t%u, Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinological Index Series,
Supplement no. 20 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1956).

137

138

Translation

The Yijing says: “By penetrating universal order and realizing one’s inner nature
one can fulfill one’s original destiny” \Shuogua 1], The Daodejinghas: “The sage
keeps his mind empty and his belly full” [3]. And “Let there always be no de¬
sires so that the wondrous can be observed” [1], The hunyu states: “There were
four tilings that the master wholly eschewed: he took nothing for granted, he
was never over-positive, never obstinate, and never egoistic” [9.4], The Meng^i
says: “People’s inner nature is good” [3A.1], And “1 am good at nourishing my
flood-like q?’ [2A.2]. All these quotations illustrate how important inner nature
and original destiny are.

Now, after having reviewed the books of the repository, 1 obtained the Zuowang
lun in seven sections and one appendix by Master Zhenyi of the Tang. As the
author’s understanding and viewpoint are extraordinary indeed, he clarifies Dao
very well, [lb] First he leads the reader to feel “respect and faith” so that his
mind may be no longer in mad confusion. The he makes him “break off his
karmic conditions” and factors, “tame his mind,” and “detach himself from
affairs” so that he can be serene in his physical structure and illuminated within.
By the next step of “perfect observation” of center and periphery, being and
nonbeing, he can then step into die “stability of cosmic peace,” where the qi is
peaceful and the spirit stable. Thus it is called “attaining Dao.”

The items listed here are the steps of sitting in oblivion, gradually lead practi¬
tioners to complete oblivion. Yet generally speaking this is none odier than a
state of no-things, no “I,” a state when not even a single thought arises. As
clearly stated under “Respect and Faith”: “On the inside unaware of one’s
body-self, on the outside not knowing diere is a universe. Merged in oneness
widi Dao, the myriad plans and worries are all gone.”

Carefully selecting and arranging the words of the scriptures, the author avoids
discrepancies and carelessness. Rather, he meticulously sets forth the subdeties
of sitting in oblivion. Spirit and qi spontaneously guard one anodier, they keep
the hundred arteries moist and glossy and the three passes open and free. 2 Thus
the perfect qi of heavenly yang comes to stay in the body-self. This is the un¬
transmitted Dao of “long life and eternal vision” [DDJ 59], Highly venerated
spirit immortals of antiquity and modern times, being distressed that worldly
people do not attain this, have always felt compelled to speak up. Students
should thus calmly ponder and thoroughly consider dieir words, practicing ever
so diligendy. [2a] Never should they regard them as “the mere chaff and dregs
of men of old” [ZZ 36/13/70] and thereby only gain die ridicule of having
wasted their efforts.

2 Arteries and passes are essential for the flow of qi through the body. See Huangting
neijingjing 18:1, comm.

ZUOWANG LUN

139

In the year dingwei [767], on the 9 th day of the 9 th month, when this text was
carved in wood, the Recluse Zhenjing respectfully wrote this preface. 3

Author’s Preface 4

[YQ la] What people esteem is life, and what life esteems is Dao. “People are
in Dao like fish are in water” [ZZ 18/26/7], Fish in a dried-up tut still long for
a pitcher of water just as people having “lost their perfect home” [ZZ 6/2/79,
18/6/72] unconsciously strive for Dao. They hate the sufferings of life and
death [samsdra] yet love its activity. They esteem words of Dao and inherent
potency yet disregard their practice. Delighted by colors and flavors, they think
they attain their will; demeaning stillness and plainness, they think of them as
extreme disgrace. Exhausting themselves for “hard-to-get goods ” [DDJ 3],
they trade in the good fortune of their future life. Giving free rein to easily de¬
filing passions, they destroy the Dao of their body-self. They call themselves
wise and skillful, but in fact they live in nothing but a dream, a delusion, [lb]
They come with life and go with death, revolving through the [rebirth] cycle for
a myriad kalpas. One can only call them “upside-down” [ZZ 42/16/21], Is
there anything more preposterous?

Thus the Miao^hen jing [Scripture of Wondrous Perfection] says: “Hu¬

man beings always lose Dao; Dao never loses them. Human beings constantly
reject life, life never rejects them. Nourishing life therefore means being careful
not to lose Dao. Practicing Dao means being careful not to lose life. This way
one causes life and Dao to guard and preserve each other, making sure the two
never get separated. Thus one can live long” [DZ 25, not found]. When it
speaks of “live long,” it means attaining the material base of Dao.

The Scripture has: “Life is the great potency of Heaven, the great happiness of
Earth, the great good fortune of humanity” [unclear]. If a person of Dao

3 Zhenjing could refer to the female Daoist Jiao Jingzhen MraflJC who, like the 13 th

patriarch Li Hanguang (683-769), was a key disciple of Sima Chengzhen. According

to her biography in YQ 16.5a, she once had a vision of a deity who directed her to meet her
destined teacher. The story is also found in Sima’s biography (DZ 296, 25.9ab).

4 This preface also appears in the DZ, but in an abridged version, including the first
paragraph and last two sentences, plus one additional sentence: ‘TJpon properly investigating
something, one’s thoughts go usually straight, but when deluded they run around in circles.
As time in its shortness always seems to be as eternal as a jade disk, my feelings of shame
and regret now grow constantly deeper.”

140

Translation

achieves it, this is not merely due to an allotment of destiny. As the Xishengjing
states: “My life is my own. It does not depend on Heaven” [ch. 26]. 5

Seen from this angle, the length of life depends on oneself: it is neither attained
as a gift from Heaven nor lost through theft by people. Examining my heart, 1
regret that it is already late and that time cannot be detained. 1 deplore the short
“years of the morning mushroom” [ZZ 1/1/10] and that 1 have already passed
beyond fifty. 1 still have not yet mastered the central points of returning to Dao.
[2a] As time is passing fast like a burning candle, 1 have made an effort to
search the scriptures for passages with simple matter and straightforward
meaning, easy to carry out practically and appropriate for spiritual sicknesses.
Thus 1 wrote a concise treatise on the method of calming the mind and sitting
in oblivion. 1 arranged it in seven sections, giving successive steps of cultivating
Dao, together with an appendix on the central methods of its realization.

1. Respect and Faith

(DZ lb] Faith is the root of Dao, respect is the stem of inherent potency.
When the root is deep, Dao can grow tall, when its stem is strong, potency can
flourish. However, though Iris gem gleamed with a brilliance worth a succession
of cities, Bian He was brought to the point of punishment by loss of a limb.
And though his words disclosed a plan for preserving the state of Wu, Wu Zixu
went on to be executed. 6 In these cases, only the outer form was clear, while
the mental inner structure was blurred. The plans of Bian He and Wu Zixu
were straightforward, but the passions and thoughts of the kings were confused.

Utmost Dao goes so far beyond sensual perception, perfect inner nature is so
far apart from anything one might desire, that it is impossible to “hear tire in*
audible, perceive the subtle” and believe one’s senses, to “listen to the formless,
recognize the symbolic,” and not be perplexed. 7 If someone thus has heard
words [YQ: methods] of sitting in oblivion, has faith in the central points of
Daoist cultivation, respects and reveres them, and is determined and without
doubt, moreover pursues his practice with utmost diligence, then he will cer¬
tainly attain Dao.

’This statement first appears in Baopugi 16 and is also found in Wu Yun’s Xingshen hegu
lun (DZ 1051, 2.23a) as from the Guijia (Turdeshell Scripture).

6 Bian He k/| I presented an uncut gem to two rulers of Chu who both punished him
with foot amputation before they recognized his sincerity and the value of the jewel. Later
there was an offer to exchange fifty cities for it (Hanfefi 12). Wu Zixu fft/PW offered the
King of Wu advice which would have saved it from being absorbed by Yue. Instead, the
king ordered Wu to commit suicide (Shift 66).

7 The two citations refer to DD] 3, 12, 14 and ZZ 49/19/43.

ZUOWANG LUN

141

The Zhuangsj says: “I smash up my limbs and physical structure, drive out per¬
ception and intellect, cast off body-form, do away with knowledge, and become
one with Great Pervasion. This is what I mean by sitting in oblivion” [19/6/92],
[Guo Xiang adds:] “Practicing this oblivion, what would there remain unforgot¬
ten? On the inside unaware of one’s body-self, on the outside never knowing
there is a universe” [DZ 745, 8.39b]. Merged in oneness with Dao, the myriad
plans and worries are all gone. [2a]

When Zhuang Zhou therefore speaks of becoming identical with Great Perva¬
sion, these words may seem shallow, but their meaning is very profound. A
deluded person wall hear them but not believe them. How can he ever practice?
Thus the Daode jing says: “It is only when one does not have enough faith in
others that others will have no faith in oneself” [17, 23]. In our context this
means that when faith in Dao is insufficient there will be the misfortune of
distrust. On such a basis how could one ever aspire to Dao?

2. Interception of Karma

Interception of karma means eliminating the karmic conditions of action and
worldly affairs. By abandoning affairs, the body-form is no longer labored; by
resting in nonaction the mind finds peace of itself. Thus stillness and leisure
will increase daily, while defilements and entanglements will diminish every day.
The further one’s traces are away from the ordinary world, the closer die mind
approaches Dao. How could “utmost saintliness” [ZZ 24/10/90] and utmost
spirit not begin widi this? Thus the Daode jing says: “Cut off contacts, shut the
doors, and to the end of life there will be peace without toil” [52, 56],

Now, there are people who show off their inherent potency and exhibit their
skills, seeking to become odiers’ proteges. Some call on people to congratulate
or condole in order to foster social relations. Others feign [YQ: cultivate] a
retired life while secretiy yearning for promotion and advancement. [2b] Yet
others freely distribute wines and foods in the expectation of future rewards.
All these are accumulations of craftiness, “mechanical minds” [ZZ 31/12/56],
only concerned with temporary profits. This is not at all in accordance with
Dao, but rather obstructs right action \samyakkanndntc\. All behavior like this
has to be given up completely. As the Daode jing puts it: “Go ahead, open up
contacts and meddle with affairs—to the end of life there will be no salvation”

[52].

“If 1 don’t sing, then odiers won’t fall in with me” [DDJ 22, 66]. And even if
odiers are singing, then 1 just don’t join them. This way old karmic condition¬
ing will gradually dissolve and no new conditions will build up. Intoxicated
partying and formal assemblies naturally will be less interesting day by day. Free

142

Translation

from affairs and in peaceful leisure one can finally cultivate Dao. The Zhuanggi
says: “Go after nothing, welcome nothing” [21/7/32], [YQ: This means that]
one should not get emotionally entangled in social relations. It also has: “Do
not be an embodier of fame, do not be a storehouse of schemes, do not be an
undertaker of projects, do not be a proprietor of wisdom” [21/7/31],

On the other hand, if there are affairs one has to take care of, do not deal with
them egoistically but make sure you don’t, because of them, give rise to love
and mental entanglements, thus producing further karma.

3. Taming the Mind

The mind is the master of the body-self, the master of the hundred spirits. 8
When still it gives rise to insight, when agitated to confusion. [3a] Delightedly
straying in delusions and projected reality, it speaks of obligation and greatly
enjoys to be in the midst of action. Who would awaken to see this as empty
and wrong?

Yet, as one realizes one’s derangement of mind and consciousness being largely
due to one’s place of residence, one chooses a new neighborhood and goes to
live there. This is already a great improvement. By a careful choice of friends
one will profit even more. How much more should this process apply when tire
body-self leaves the realm of birth and death and the mind comes to reside in
the center of perfect Dao? Without giving up the former, how could one ever
attain the latter?

Therefore, when one first begins to study Dao one must sit calmly and tame
the mind, let go of projected reality and abide in nonexistence \avidyamdnd\. As
one abides in nonexistence, without being attached to even one being, one
naturally enters emptiness and nonbeing. Thus one joins Dao. The Scripture says:
“The center of utmost Dao is serenity and nonexistence, where spirit is without
bent and so are mind and physical structure. By going to the deepest source of
mind and physical structure, one finds their root is Dao.” 9

On the other hand, when one lets one’s mind and spirit become defiled, if the
obscuring overgrowth becomes thicker and wilder day by day, then one is mov¬
ing away from Dao. Rather, [YQ: having the ability of] scrubbing away die de¬
filements of the mind, opening up consciousness of [YQ: insight into] the root

8 See Shying, Odes 252, 273; Uji , “Iijun.” As body gods, they appear in the Huangting
jing and Laogi pongjing.

9 Citation unclear. The YQ reads: “Thus the scripture speaks of ‘perfect Dao.’ There¬
fore enter the essential stillness of being, and spirit will be ‘without bent’.” The latter expres¬
sion is from the Zhuangq (44/17/44).

ZUOWANG LUN

143

of spirit is what we call cultivating Dao. No more unsteady floating [through
the realms of rebirth]—but “mystical harmony with Dao” [Huainan^i 7.1a], [3b]
Resting calmly within Dao is called “returning to the root” [DDJ 16]. Guarding
the root and never leaving it is called stillness and stability.

When these increase daily, diseases are dispersed and original destiny is recov¬
ered. Continuous recovery leads to spontaneous knowledge of the eternal.
“Knowledge” here means that nothing is left unilluminated, “eternal” means
that nothing changes or perishes anymore. Any escape from the cycle of birth
and death only comes from this. Following Dao and calming the mind there¬
fore ultimately depend on freedom from attachment. As the Daode jing has it:
“All tilings flourish, but each returns to its root. This return to the root means
stillness, it is called recovering original destiny. Recovering original destiny is
called die eternal, and to know the eternal is called brightness” [16].

Yet again, any hold on one’s mind while abiding in emptiness means that there
is still some place, and this cannot be called nowhere. Whenever one abides in
some place, one causes the mind to be labored [YQ: and die breath to speed
up]. Consequently it is not united with universal order, but on the contrary will
keep producing disease. Only a mind fully detached from all tilings and in a
state of immobility can be the proper foundation of perfect stability. Stability
on such a basis will make mind and qi work harmoniously, and, in the long run,
lightness and alacrity will increase. Only then one will be able to distinguish the
“proper from the wayward” [XSJ 7], When all mental arising is annihilated and
no more difference is made between “right and wrong” [ZZ 2], one can forever
discard awareness and knowledge and enter the state of blind stability. [4a]

However, if one gives free rein to all mental arising and does not attempt to
tame and control it, then one is not really different from ordinary people. If
one only annihilates the judgment of good and evil without giving die mind a
direction for return, lets it float and wander around in dissolution and relies on
stability to come naturally, one only deceives oneself. On the other hand, if one
goes on attending to all one’s affairs and yet claims to be free from defilements,
then this reveals great goodness [YQ: beauty] in words, but highest [YQ: strong]
error in deeds. All serious students should therefore be especially warned
against this. The key here is to put confusion to rest without destroying the
radiating mind, to guard stillness without getting attached to emptiness. Practic¬
ing like this continually will bring about the natural attainment of perfect vision.

If there is some ongoing affair to attend to or some important doubt about the
method, one should rely on intelligent reasoning to resolve the situation or allay
one’s doubts. This will enhance awakening. It will also give rise to insight and
further strengthen the basis of practice. Once awakening is reached, one must

144

Translation

not produce thoughts any longer. 10 This is because thoughts will cause wisdom
to harm stillness, i.e., make the offshoot injure the root. Though one may has¬
ten to gain an hour’s superiority, one will thereby get involved with another
myriad generations of karma.

Any confused deviance or disturbing fantasy should be eliminated as soon as
one becomes aware of it. [4b] Upon hearing slander or praise, or anything
good or bad, one should just radically cut it all out and not admit it into the
mind at all. This is because if anything is taken in, the mind will be full. With a
full mind, Dao has no place to go. Whatever one may see or hear, it should be
like one had not seen or heard at all. Then right and wrong, good and evil can¬
not enter the mind.

When the mind does not receive anything from die outside, we call it an empty
mind. When it does not pursue anything on the outside, we call it a mind at
peace. In a mind at peace that is always kept empty Dao wall come to stay of
itself. As the Neiguan jing has it: “To someone who can maintain an empty mind
and nonaction, even without wishing for Dao, Dao will return of itself’ [5a],
On the inside there is nothing the mind is attached to, on the outside there is
nothing one would actively do. One is no longer pure or defiled, which is why
slander and praise no longer arise. One is neither wise nor ignorant, which is
why profit and loss no longer appear. If tilings are fixed one remains constant
within their order. If circumstances are shifting one moves with the times. Such
is the basic wisdom of avoiding attachments.

However, if someone at improper times and in inappropriate situations sub¬
dues his thinking and acts forcefully, yet calls himself unattached, then he is not
really a student of perfection [YQ: truly aware]. Why? Well, the mind is like the
eyes. 11 When only a tiny speck of dust enters them, they are no longer still.
Likewise when a minor affair concerns the mind, it becomes agitated and con¬
fused. And once there is the disease of agitation, it is very difficult to enter a
state of stability. [5a] Therefore the central point in cultivating Dao lies in the
extinction of such diseases. As long as they are not eradicated any real stability
of mind remains hard to attain.

It is just like a fertile field. As long as thorns and brambles are not cut down,
one can sow as many seeds as one wants, but fresh shoots will not grow. Love,
sight, thoughts, and worries are the thorns and brambles of the mind. As long
as they are not cut down, stability and insight cannot grow. Again, as long as
one lives in wealth and high esteem or is a scholar of the classics and histories,
one may very well speak with “compassion and restraint” [DDJ 67], but one’s

10 YQ: “Once the affair is settled, it is over. No need to have many thoughts” (5a).

11 See Wu Yun’s essay below.

ZUOWANG LUN

145

actions will be full of greed and oppressiveness. Eloquent enough to disguise
falseness, powerful enough to awe others, someone like this will credit suc¬
cesses entirely to himself, while blaming all failures on others. A disease like
this is very serious and study alone will not help. Its underlying cause is self-
righteousness. 12

As the mind has always been in the realm of dependence, it is entirely unaccus¬
tomed to standing alone. If it suddenly finds itself without support, it will
hardly feel peaceful in itself. Though then peace may be found for a short time,
the mind will fall back again into vagueness and confusion. Whatever arises in
the mind must be controlled, one must by all means bring it to a state of im¬
mobility. Then—after a long time—it will eventually comply and naturally at¬
tain peace and repose. Independent of day or night, of walking, standing, sitting,
lying down, or attending to one’s duties, one must constantly remain intent of
keeping the mind at peace. [5b] Once the mind is established in stability, it
[YQ: merely] has to be nourished calmly. As there are no more irritations or
arousals and as one has attained a minor level of stability, a feeling of sponta¬
neous happiness will arise. Very gradually the mind becomes compliant and
docile, always increasing in [YQ: aware of] limpidity and remoteness. What it
loved dearly [YQ: valued highly] in its worldly life, it now resents as low and
vulgar [YQ: superfluous]. How much closer, as stability has arisen and insight
deepened, has it come to distinguish between perfect and apparent reality?

Oxen and horses are domestic animals. When they are left to themselves and
not tamed, they soon develop stubbornness and never accept being harnessed
and used for chariots [Neiguan jing 2b], Goshawks and merlins are wild birds,
but if they are tied and fettered by people, close to the hand every day, they
naturally get used to it. How much more than these does the mind, when al¬
lowed to run wild and not controlled, increase in coarseness and crassness?
How could it ever be able to “observe the wondrous” [DDJ 1]? As the Daode
>gputs it: “Rather than present large pieces of jade preceded by teams of four
horses, one should kneel and offer this Dao” [62],

However, the subtleties of the technique are found only upon practice. They do
not show in one’s ability to talk but only in how good one’s practice is. Once
one engages in the practice, words regarding Dao are understood properly, but
as long as one does not practice, they merely sound foolish. Our contemporar¬
ies in their studies value the difficult and scorn the easy. When someone dis¬
courses on [YQ: profoundly discusses] the technique, and at that occasion

12 This echoes the Benjijing (DH 42, 5.53 and 115-25; Ofuchi 1979, 319-320). The text
describes self-righteousness as seeing oneself with an ego-centered mind and notes that the
mina fault of such thinking lies in conceiving of goodness as right and of evil as wrong or
vice versa, i.e., having any kind of fixed opinion.

146

Translation

elaborates on emptiness and nonbeing as that which thoughts and ideas can
never reach, which even practical application cannot make accessible [6a], they
sigh and say that they cannot comprehend it, acknowledge their inferiority and
show their deepest respects.

On the other hand, when someone speaks “perfect words that are not beauti¬
ful” [DDJ 81], points straight to the object and explains tilings clearly [YQ:
makes his plea] in a way that the audience can understand him and follow his
instructions, then this is really amazing. But people will turn away considering it
shallow and simplistic and, with an attitude of contempt and indifference, 13 will
not believe it. As the Daode jing says: “My words are very easy to understand
and very easy to follow in practice. None in the whole world can understand or
practice them. It is because people do not understand this that they do not un¬
derstand me” [70],

Again, there are those who maintain that fire is not hot or that a lamp does not
shine. They find wonderful meaning in this. Now, fire has heating as its func¬
tion and a lamp has the effect of illuminating the dark. But these people talk at
any length about fire being not hot—yet they dispense with heating not even
for a moment. [YQ: They vainly say that] a lamp does not shine in the dark, yet
they certainly have a lamp burning throughout the night. Here words and ac¬
tions contradict each other, theory and reality do not fit together. Theirs are
merely words negating the reality of the phenomenal world, but people—quite
to the contrary—regard it as a profound mystery. Even such an eminent dialec¬
tician as Huizi was regarded by Master Zhuang as unbearable [ZZ 33], Who of
these ignoramuses would ever be able to radically cut out such arguments? Stu¬
dents of perfection must never mind them! [6b]

Moreover, some people say that great Dao is attained by living among tilings,
but never letting one’s mind be defiled, by remaining within active life without
ever confusing one’s spirit. There is “nothing that is not done” [DDJ 48]; there
is no moment without serenity 7 . On the other hand, if one now avoids affairs
and prefers repose, leaves the active life and pursues stability, one will take
great pains to remain in control. There will be a dichotomy of agitation and
repose, and one will be hampered by the effort of holding on to one state of
mind, thereby giving rise to the disease of accepting one and rejecting anodier
without ever being aware of any [DZ: outward] entanglement. Despite of this,
one will say that one has attained some stage of Dao. What a terrible hypocrisy
is this?

But 1 answer: What unites all tilings is called great. What pervades all tilings is
called Dao. Verily 7 , remaining among tilings without defilements, living in the
world without being agitated, this truly is great! This is fully subtle! But 1 say

13 The first part of this sentence is not contained in the YQ.

ZUOWANG LUN

147

that your mirror, Sir, is not entirely clear. Why? Because you see only the gleam
of pearly brocades, but are not aware of the plain silk threads it was originally
made from. You only hear the cry of the crane soaring into the sky, but do you
know that it was formerly provided for with regurgitated food? A tree trunk
obscuring the sun grows from a wispy twig. Similarly the saintliness of a stable
spirit comes from accumulation of practice. [7a]

Now, it is vain to learn to speak of sagely potency and not know what the sage
considers his potency to be. This might be called “seeing an egg and seeking a
rooster; seeing a crossbow pellet and seeking a roast dove” [ZZ 6/2/76], Why
such a flurry? The Daode jing says: “Mysterious potency becomes deep and far-
reaching, and with it all tilings return to their original natural state. Then com¬
plete harmony is reached” [65],

4. Detachment from Affairs 14

The life of people is always governed by affairs and tilings. Affairs and tilings
come in myriads, yet they can be given up by the individual. Thus, nesting on
one branch of wood, a bird seems neglectful of the thicket reeds. Drinking a
bellyful of water from a river, the beast is not stingy about the flooding billows.
On the outside, one should strive for tilings among others, but on the inside
one should “clarify one’s needs to oneself” [ZZ 62/23/35]. Knowing that life
has allotments, one should not be concerned with what one is not allotted.
Recognizing that affairs have what is appropriate, one should not engage in
what is inappropriate for a given situation. When one’s affairs are dealt with
inappropriately, one harms wisdom and strength. When one’s concerns go be¬
yond one’s allotments, one suffers in body-form and spirit. [7b] If one has no
peace within oneself, how could one ever [YQ: aspire to] attain Dao?

Therefore, anyone who is cultivating Dao must gain detachment from affairs
and give up tilings. Knowing what is marginal and what essential about them,
he can measure their importance. Recognizing that one has to accept or reject
them, he finds no importance or necessity for himself and duly abandons them.
For instance, eating meat and drinking wine, dressing in gauzy cloth and fine
silk, having a high personal reputation and official position, or possessing fine
jades and money are totally superfluous gratifications of passions and desires.
These tilings are not at all good medicines to enhance life. The masses hanker
after them and bring death and defeat upon themselves. Coming to think of
them calmly, aren’t they terrible delusion?

14 The contrast between detachment from affairs (shijian IjfflU) and entanglement in
affairs (shi/ei /pl pl) is also outlined in detail in Dadao lun 20b.

148

Translation

The Zhuang^i sa Y s: “He who has mastered the perfect nature of destiny does
not labor over what destiny cannot do” [48/19/1]. By “what destiny cannot
do” are meant the tilings outside one’s allotment. Vegetarian food and old
clothes are good enough to nourish [YQ: extend] inner nature and original des¬
tiny, so why depend on wine and meat, gauze and silk, and only with them con¬
sider life complete? Therefore, whatever is not fundamentally necessary to sus¬
tain life has to be given up, and whatever of the necessary tilings is too many
has to be abandoned. Wealth is harmful to the qi, and if it accumulates the
whole body will suffer. [8a] Even in small quantities it is a worry, how much
more so when there is a lot of it? Now, “if one takes the Lord of Sui’s pearl to
shoot at a thousand fathom high sparrow, some will find this ridiculous” [ZZ
77/28/29; Huainantg 12], How much more ridiculous, then, is one who turns
his back on Dao and inherent potency, disregards inner nature and original
destiny, and continues to pursue the unnecessary, thereby causing destruction
for himself?

Comparing reputation and position to Dao and potency, one finds die former
are false and petty, whereas the latter are perfect and noble. Once one is able to
recognize pettiness and nobility, one must accordingly accept or reject them. In
any case, one should never let reputation harm one’s body-self or position
change one’s determination [DDJ 44], The Zhuang^i says: “Who enhances his
reputation and thereby loses himself is not a perfect knight” [12/6/12]. The
Xishengjing has: “1 embrace the primordial source and guard the One, go be¬
yond all and attain spirit immortality. You cannot guard it as long as you are
still established in honor and official position”[7.13-14], If one does not gain
aloofness and detachment from bondages and affairs, they will exhaust the
mind [YQ: body-form] and confuse wisdom. Thus the cultivation of Dao will
be neglected. If one lives in the midst of action full of serenity, remains among
people without any attachments, then one can count oneself among die ac¬
complished. However, one who has not actually accomplished this and merely
talks about not being attached only deceives himself. [8b]

5. Perfect Observation

Perfect observation is the foremost mirror of the knight of wisdom, the quality
examination of the people of ability. Probing good and bad fortune which
chances to come, divining the blessings and calamities inherent in activity and
stillness, he succeeds in seeing ahead of life’s motions and arranges his acts
accordingly. 15 Deeply praying and maintaining sufficiency [YQ stability], hum-

15 This seems rather different from the Daode jing, which says: “Foreknowledge is an
extraneous ornament of Dao and marks the beginning of stupidity” (38).

ZUOWANG LUN

149

bly [YQ: meritoriously] serving the completeness of life, there will never be
action in attachment from beginning to end, neither will one’s principles con¬
tradict one’s actions. Then one can speak of “perfect observation.”

One bite of food or a wink of sleep usually become the source of some gain or
loss, one step forward or one word spoken quite possibly lay the foundation
for good and bad fortune. Though one might still cleverly restrain the results, it
is much better to stolidly be on one’s guard against the origins. By observing
the root, the branch is known. However, one must first be free from impatient,
struggling emotions. This is why we practice taming the mind and detachment
from affairs. Daily diminish outward actions, bring the physical structure to
stillness, and let the mind rest in leisure: then you can truly observe [YQ: and
envision] the wondrous [YQ: cosmic order of perfection]. As the Daodejing has
it: “Let there always be no desires so that the wondrous may be observed” [1],

Nevertheless, even while cultivating Dao tire body-self must be provided with
food and clothing, there are affairs that cannot be given up or things one can¬
not leave alone. Those have to be cared about with humility and should be at¬
tended to with clear perception. Don’t let them become an obstruction or allow
your mind give rise to anger and impatience. [9a] As soon as you give rise to
anger and impatience because of some affair [YQ: you see affairs as affairs], the
mind will be sick with agitation. How then can it be called a mind at peace?

All human affairs, all food and clotiiing of people are merely a boat. If I want
to cross an ocean, I need a boat. After the passage is completed, the reason for
the boat is no longer there. 16 But why should one abandon it before even hav¬
ing gone on the voyage? Food and clotiiing in themselves are empty illusion
and without actual value. But as a means to free oneself from empty illusion,
one must obtain provision with food and clotiiing. One should therefore never
have any feelings of gain or loss about them. Whether involved in affairs or
free from affairs, the mind should be constantly calm and at peace! 17 Join oth¬
ers in seeking but not in coveting, in attaining but not in hoarding. No coveting
means being free from worry; no hoarding means never experiencing loss. In
deeds be like others, but in mind always remain aloof \Huainangi 1.11b; DDJ
65]. This really is the most essential point of practice. Work on it very hard!

Despite a growing detachment from affairs there might still be some disease
hard to eradicate. In that case just rely on the divine law and observe it. For
example, you may suffer from a strong case of sensual involvement: observe

16 This echoes the Buddhist parable of the raft found in the Madhimanikaya. See
Homer 1977, 1:173-74.

17 This echoes a similar statement in the Dingguan jing. “Whether involved in affairs or
free from affairs, constandy maintain no-mind!” The expression used here is antai, which
literally means of “inner and cosmic peace.”

150

Translation

the fact that all defiling sensuality arises merely from your imagination. If you
do not allow imagination to arise, there cannot be any sensuality. Understand
therefore that sensual imaginings are empty on the outside while sensual feel¬
ings are mere delusion within. [9b] As they are nothing but deluded feelings
and empty imaginings, who would be tire master of sensuality? The Ding^hijing
[Scripture on Stabilizing the Will] says: “Sensuality is entirely imagina¬
tive. All imagination is ultimately empty. How can there be something like sen-
suality?”[DZ 325, 2b].

Also, consider that the beautiful sensuality of attractive women is even more
dangerous than that of fox fairies. When fox fairies seduce men they arouse
loathing and distress, hence at the death of the body-self they do not fall into
the bad realms [of rebirth]. Loathing and distress keep them forever away from
waywardness and debauchery. Human beauties, however, beguile men, make
them fall in love and get attached to them. To the end of their lives in this
body-self they hanker after them and get deeply steeped in wayward thoughts,
then—after death—proceed to fall into the hells. [YQ: Forever they will have
turned away from birth in the realm of people and from the road to happiness].
The Shangpin jing [Scripture of the Highest Rank] says: “Why is it that

people of one mind and joined as husband and wife in this world after death do
not attain tire human state together again? It is because of depraved thoughts”
[DZ 344, 2a],

Then again, why—if sensual attraction ultimately comes down to beauty—do
fish upon seeing such beauty enter deeper into the water, and birds fly off into
the sky? 18 Immortals recognize sensuality as defilement and [energetic] turbidity,
wise ones compare it to knives and axes of punishment. 19 In the couse of a
destined life on earth, not eating for seven days will cause death, but a hundred
years without sensuality will avert untimely departure. [10a] See, then, that sen¬
suality is not essential or appropriate for the body-self or the mind, but an en¬
emy and thief to inner nature and original destiny. Why must you be subject to
entanglement and attachment, yourself inviting calamity and destruction?

To see another do evil and give rise to enmity and hatred in one’s own mind is
just like seeing someone kill himself and promptly stick out one’s own neck to
accept the other’s blade and get killed oneself. The other person commits evil
by himself, he does not ask me to do likewise. Why then should I reach out to
take in another’s negativity and make myself sick? If one can feel enmity upon
seeing someone perform evil, then one must also react with negativity upon

18 See Zhuang^ 1 (Watson 1968, 46) for these and other examples of the same idea,
that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

19 This reflects a statement commonly found in medieval longevity literature about
sensory involvement and excesses. See Kohn 2010, 7-8, 11.

ZUOWANG LUN

151

seeing someone do good. Why is that so? Because in both cases Dao is ob¬
structed.

Now, if one suffers from poverty, one should observe this and ask, “who made
me poor?” Heaven and Earth are equable and regular, protecting and support¬
ing without personal aims. So if I am poor now, it is certainly not the fault of
Heaven and Earth. When parents give birth to a child, they desire to see him in
wealth and high esteem. So if I am poor now I cannot blame it on my parents.
Other men, ghosts, and spirits don’t even have the time to save themselves,
how then would they have the strength to make me poor? Going back and
forth, I cannot find anyone to blame for my poverty. Thus I cannot help but
realize that it must be my own karma, my own Heaven-given destiny [ZZ
19/6/95-96], [10b]

1 produce my own karma, whereas Heaven provides me with the destiny of this
life. Karma relates to destiny like shadow and echo follow form and sound. 20
They are not to be avoided or resented in any way. Only one who has wisdom
can master them with skill. Delighting in Heaven and understanding destiny,
there will be no need to lament over any eventual suffering through poverty. 21
Therefore the Zhuangcp says: “Karma enters and cannot avoided: it is your own
karma.” 22 Thus if poverty and diseases come, they cannot be stopped. The
Scripture says: “Heaven and Earth cannot alter their routine, yin and yang can¬
not revert their tasks [ ye]” [unclear]. Judging the matter from this angle, we
know that one has a perfect destiny, not a mere mask. How could one resent it?

The situation we find ourselves in can be compared to the encounter of a brave
knight with a band of brigands. Never feeling dread or fear, he brandishes his
sword and rushes to the battlefront, fighting until the robbers flee. Having thus
gained merit in his service, he is gloriously rewarded for the rest of his life. If
now there are poverty and diseases, irritations and troubles in my life, then
these are my robbers and brigands. With an upright mind I can be a brave
knight. Examining them in wisdom and by observation I brandish my sword. 23
The battle is won when all irriatations and entanglements are eliminated. To be
luminous and constandy happy—this is the glorious reward. [11a] But often,

20 YQ: “Karma and destiny are basically like shadow and echo” (11a). On shadow and
echo as being closely connected to form and sound, see Liettg 1.

21 YQ: “One who has wisdom can follow his karma and act benevolendy, delighting in
Heaven and never even aware of the possibility that he might suffer from poverty” (11a).

22 13/23/47. The original text, of course, would not speak of “karma.” Watson trans¬
lates ye as “outside concerns” (1968, 255).

23 The sword is a metaphor for insight, common in Buddhism. See Dcupi dulun i/cSJS
(Prajndpdramitd sastra, T. 25.169a). For more on swords in Daoism, see Fukunaga 1973;

Schafer 1979.

152

Translation

when suffering or affairs come to harass us, the mind instead of using the
method of observation gives rise to worry and anxiety. This then is like an en¬
counter with brigands when one rather than gaining merit in service casts off
one’s weapons and turns one’s back on the battlefield. One duly has to bear the
guilt of desertion and defeat. Thereby one rejects happiness and invites suffer¬
ing—how could there be empathy?

If there is suffering or disease, one should first understand through observation
that it originates in the fact drat one has a body-self. Without a body-self the
vexations would have no place to dwell. As the Daode jing states: “If 1 had no
body-self, what vexations would 1 have?” [13]. Next you should turn to observe
the mind and find that there is no perfect lord. Even though you search for
him inside out, “you can’t find him anywhere” [ZZ 4/2/15]. All plans and
thoughts arise only from a deluded mind. Thus when one “makes one’s body
like dried wood and one’s mind like dead ashes” [ZZ 3/2/2] all the various
diseases are eradicated.

Someone who is horrified by death, for example, should drink of his “body-self
as the lodge of spirit.” 24 Thus as the body-self grows old and sick, as qi and
strength decline day by day, it will just be like a house with rotting walls. Once
it becomes uninhabitable, it is best to abandon it and look for another place to
stay. The death of the body-self and the departure of spirit are then a mere
change of residence. However, when “one hankers after life and loathes death,”
resisting the “natural transformations,” 25 one’s spirit and consciousness will be
confused and let into error, losing their right action \samyakkarmantd\. [lib] As
a result, when one is entrusted to life again and receives the constituting qi, one
will not lean toward the pure and refined, but end up with much turbid and
disgraceful qi. Generally all those stupid and dull, dumb and greedy come into
being like this. 26

Only if one does not feel exhilarated when alive or full of aversion when facing
death can one attain the equality of life and death and thereby produce good
karma for the body-selves to come. By greedily craving for a myriad aspects of
projected reality, on the other hand, one will end up with love and disease al¬
ternating. If even one limb is sick, the whole physical structure is in discomfort

24 This is a common statement in traditional Daoist literature, e.g. ZZ 18/6/79;
Huainan^i 2.2b; Xishetigjing 17.5.

25 These two citations come from ZZ 10/4/44, 15/6/8, 49/19/35 and 17/6/45.

26 See ZZ 42/17/9. The Huainan^i lists a series of different energies constituting basic
tempers and dispositions (ch. 3), which is next taken up in Wang Chong’s 3/^E latnheng
Hi (Balanced Discussions) (Forke 1972, 1:381). In a Daoist context, the same idea appears in
Du Guangting’s Yongshengjixian lu ( DZ 783): “A person of pure qi is clever, alert, wise, and
intelligent. A person of turbid qi is unlucky, harsh, dumb, and foolish.(1.5b; Kohn 1989b, 92).

ZUOWANG LUN

153

and unrest, how much more so when the one mind is full of myriads of dis¬
eases? Desiring eternal life in one body-self—how is possible? All craving and
aversion arise from delusion. By accumulating delusion instead of expelling it
one will obscure the vision of Dao. Thus relinquish all desires and abide in
nonexistence! Be placid, pure, and well-rooted [YQ: cast off all desires and
maintain a straightforward mind], and only then turn to observation! Whatever
you loved before will now only cause weariness and disdain.

But if you try to observe projected reality with a mind attached to projected
reality, you can never be aware of your negativities to the end of your days.
Only with a mind utterly detached from projected reality can you observe pro¬
jected reality itself and reach a perfect understanding of right and wrong. The
process can be compared to a sobered man who now can see the drunkard’s
evil deeds the wrong of which he was totally unaware of as long as he was
drunk himself. 27 The Shengxuan jing says: “I uproot and cast off worldly life and
give up die world completely” [XSJ 7.12]. 28 [12a] The Xishengjing states: “Eyes
and ears, sound and color keep one always in a state of tension. . .. Thus 1 cast
off the ordinary, reject and leave the common world” [7.8, 12], Accordingly
Lord Lao gave up the world and cast off worldly life. Realizing now that smell
and taste are to be given up as nodiing but a steady flow of craving and desires,
how could one regard the fishmonger’s shop as stinking?

6. Stability of Cosmic Peace

The stability of cosmic peace is the ultimate point of leaving worldly life and
the first firm foodiold of reaching Dao. It represents merit perfected in the
practice of stillness and is the end to affairs tiirough attainment of inner peace.
The body-form like dried wood, the mind like dead ashes, there are no more
impulses, no more searches. One has reached die perfect contemplative state of
serenity. Witii no-mind one settles in stability, thus there is nothing that is not
stable. The Zhuang^i says: “He whose inner being rests in the stability of cosmic
peace wall spread a heavenly radiance” [63/23/41], Here “resting” refers to the
mind, whereas “heavenly radiance” means insight coming forth. The mind is
the vessel of Dao. When diis is utterly empty and still, Dao can reside there and

27 This evaluation of drunkenness rather conforms to the Buddhist usage of the meta¬
phor. The Zhuang^i, on the other hand, sees drunkenness as comparable to the state of obliv¬
ion, the ideal mental state of the sage. It gives the example of the “drunken man who falls
off a carriage,” but remains unhurt because his mind is utterly “unknowing” (48/19/12;
Watson 1968, 198).

28 The Shengxuan jing and the Xishengjing are often cited interchangeably in medieval

texts. See Xiaodao lun (Laughing at the Dao, T. 52. ,143c-152c), sect. 34 (Kohn 1995,

146). The same statement also appears in Daojiaojishu 1.7a.

154

Translation

insight arises. This insight comes from inner nature and does not depend on
present circumstances. Thus we call it “heavenly radiance.” [12b]

However, if greed and love disturb and confuse it, there will be only darkness
and delusion. By cleansing the mind to “snow-white clarity” [ZZ 58/22/29]
and by softly stretching it out, one recovers purity and returns to stillness. The
spirit and consciousness of original perfection softly and gradually comes to
shine of itself. This is not to say that at that moment an entirely alien insight is
born. Rather, it is an insight arising from one’s very self and as such it should
be held very precious.

One should never jeopardize stability by too much knowledge. It is generally
not difficult to give rise to insight, but very hard indeed not to use it. Ever since,
people who forgot their body-form were numerous, but those who forgot their
reputation were few. And having insight without using it means to forget all
about one’s reputation. Rarely have people like that been found in the world.
Thus we say it is hard to practice this. Being noble without pride, rich without
indulgence in luxury is not tempting worldly luck. 29 People like that are able to
keep their wealth and high esteem for a long time. Remaining in stability with¬
out movement, full of insight without using it is not tempting Dao. It allows
the attainment of deep purity and perfect constancy. The Zhuang^i says: “To
know Dao is easy—to keep from speaking about it is hard. To know and not to
speak, this gets you to the heavenly part. To know and to speak, this gets you
to the human part. Men of old looked out for die heavenly, not for the human”
[89/32/17],

By insight one can know Dao but one cannot attain it. People know the advan¬
tages of gaining insight, but they don’t know the benefit of attaining Dao. [13a]
Whereas insight illuminates universal order, lively argumentation is only used to
influence the feelings of odiers. The mind is stimulated and involved in affairs
and thus grows ever more attached to categories. Yet someone may say: ‘I am
in the midst of all this activity, yet I remain constantly serene.’ How can there
be understanding of serenity as long as it still depends on tilings? Such an atti¬
tude and such claims have notiiing in common widi the stability of cosmic
peace. Such wisdom, diough certainly beyond the ordinary, is yet nowhere near
Dao. It is like setting out with the intention of hunting a deer and returning
only with a hare, a very insignificant catch: crooked and petty!

The Zhuanggi says: “Those of ancient times who practiced Dao employed tran¬
quility to nourish wisdom. Wisdom arose, yet they did notiiing for its sake. So

29 “Tempting” translates guo i@, lit. “go beyond.” In other words exceeding the limits
of one’s allotment and destiny. The statement echoes DD] 9: “To be proud with nobility
and wealth is to cause one’s own downfall.” The idea is prominent in later writers, notably
Guo Xiang and Sun Simiao.

ZUOWANG LUN

155

they may be said to have employed wisdom to nourish tranquility. Wisdom and
tranquility took turns nourishing each other, and harmony and universal order
emerged from inner nature” [41/16/1], What Zhuangzi here calls “tranquility
and wisdom” is stability and insight. “Harmony and universal order” are Dao
and inherent potency. By having wisdom and not using it, by calmly resting in
stillness, thus strengthening it over a long period, Dao and potency will natu¬
rally be perfected.

But let us ask: By what actions does one attain this stability? On the one hand,
whenever you recognize an advantage, make sure you always note the disadvan¬
tages. And whenever you feel anxiety about misfortune calm the mind. On the
other hand, keep on diminishing, forsaking, purifying, and cleansing—always
continue in the practice and the mind will mature. These measures applied to¬
gether will certainly lead you home to stability. You will then accept it as a
completely natural state. [13b] Even sudden clasps of thunder or the tumbling
down of a mountain will no longer startle you. 30 Even the crossing of bare
blades won’t bring about any fear. Reputation and advantages will seem tran¬
sient as if “passing a crack” [ZZ 82/29/51] life and death will appear as the
mere “bursting of a boil” [ZZ 18/6/68], Thus you realize that as long as appli¬
cation of the practice and your determination to continue are not divided, you
will harmonize them in your spirit.

The vacuity and mystery of the mind cannot be fathomed indeed. It really is a
strange tiling: if you approach its substance it does not seem to exist, if you
pursue its application it certainly is there. “Without haste it is swift, without
being summoned it arrives” [DDJ 73; ZZ 26/11/17]. In a state of anger it will
hit the center of a stone, arrow and feathers. 31 In a state of grudge it will make
it freeze in the heat of summer. Unleashing hatred it gets near the nine realms
of darkness. Accumulating benevolence, how could it be far off the Three
Heavens? 32 It comes and goes abruptly, whether agitated or calm cannot easily
be told. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s gone. Neither milfoil nor tortoise
shells could divine it. How could one compare the difficulty of taming and con¬
trolling the mind with mere deer or horses?

Lord Lao promotes constant benevolence in order to save people, he ascends
to the Numinous Terrace and displays the subtle. He outlines cause and effect

30 This echoes Huangting neijingjing 3.7, comm. Also Wu Yun’s Xinmu lun (see below).

31 The allusion is to a story of a man who thought he was shooting a wild bull but in
fact hit a stone, the power of his shot was so strong that the arrow entered the stone all the
way to the feathers. See Uishi chunqiu 9.5.

32 The nine realms of darkness (jiuyou /iffl) are the hells or earth prisons ( diyu ifMlt) in

the underworld. The Three Heavens ( santian are the original levels of creation, myste¬
rious, primordial, and beginning ( xuanyuan shi Kohn in Pregadio 2008, 851-52.

156

Translation

of the Three Vehicles and expands on the spontaneous nature of the myriad
tilings. 33 He makes people gradually, day by day, diminish their deliberate ac¬
tions and suddenly attain the return to unknowing. As a metaphor we speak of
it as of drawing a bow and piercing die aim with an arrow. As a method [14a]
we describe it as blunting the sharpness and untying the knots. 34 If you main¬
tain die constancy of [YQ: follow the path of] cultivation you will by practice
perfect your inner nature. Smash up your limbs and body, drive out intellect
and perception and experience detachment and oblivion. Unmoving in the
stillness, you will imperceptibly and subtly enter clarity of spirit. Those who
take steps in any other direction will never understand what 1 mean. But those
who go along with this Dao can be certain to see the subtle. Small effort—high
rewards! It is essential! It is subtle!

7. Attaining Dao

Dao is a spiritual and wonderful thing. It is numinous and yet has inner nature;
it is empty but without any symbol. Following or meeting it, it cannot be fath¬
omed. Neither its shadow nor its echo can be pursued [DDJ 14]. Without
knowing why it just is, pervading all life. 35 Yet it is never exhausted. This is
what we call Dao.

Utmost sages have attained it in antiquity, and thus the wondrous divine law
has been transmitted to us today. Following descriptions, probing into princi¬
ples, we find it completely real. Worthy knights of pure faith have overcome
their selves and practiced it diligently. Once the mind is emptied and the “spirit
like a valley” [DDJ 6], Dao alone will come to assemble. Once Dao has become
strong [YQ: of utmost strength], it imperceptibly [YQ: softly] works changes in
body-form and spirit. [14b] The body-form aligned with Dao and pervading
spirit is what constitutes a “spirit person.” 36

His spirit and inner nature are empty and fused into one. His physical structure
no longer changes or decays. His body-form is united with Dao, he no longer
experiences life and death. Withdrawn from life, his body-form merges with

33 The concept of the Three Vehicles [triyana, sancheng) is of Buddhist origin and desig¬
nates different paths to enlightenment: listening ( srdvaka ), cultivating oneself (pratyekabuddha ),
and striving for universal salvation ( bodhisattva ). In Daoism, is signifies the three major school
of the middle ages, Highest Clarity, Numinous Treasure, and the Three Sovereigns together
with the Celestial Masters

34 The last two sentences contain allusions to DDJ 48, 65, 77, and 56.

35 YQ: “Not knowing why it is not so, yet it makes everything be” (15a). See also Benji
jing4.16(i (Ofuchi 1979, 315); and Wu Yun’s Xingshen kzgu lun (DZ 1051, 2.20a).

3 « See ZZ 2/1/22, 12/4/79.

ZUOWANG LUN

157

spirit; apparent in the world, his spirit merges with his qi [YQ: body-form].
Therefore a spirit person can step into water or fire without suffering harm. He
can stand in the sunshine or the moonlight without throwing a shadow. Sur¬
vival and destruction resting with himself, he passes in and out of the space¬
less. 37 If even die coarse substance of tds body-self becomes like the empty and
wondrous [Dao], how much more should Iris numinous wisdom excel in depth
and remoteness? The Shengshen jing [Scripture of Ascension to Spirit]

says: “When body-self and spirit are unified the perfect body-self is born” [un¬
clear], The 'Kishengjing has: “Body-form and spirit merged in harmony means
eternal life” [29.5],

The way of emptiness and nonbeing [YQ: of an empty mind] can be deep or
shallow. When it is deep it covers both, including [tire mind and] also the body-
form. When it is shallow it goes only as far as the mind. When it covers both
including die body-form, one is a spirit person. When it only goes as far as the
mind, one only attains insight and awakening, but the body-self will not be
spared. Why is this? Insight is the activation of the mind, and when the mind
[YQ: body-sell] is active a lot, it will be labored. When one first attains a little
bit of insight, one is delighted and deliberates a lot. Thereby spirit and qi are
drained away and, as no numinosity enriches the body-self, one’s clarity [YQ:
life] will be extinguished very early. [15a] Thus it is very difficult to perfect Dao.
This is what the scriptures call “deliverance from the corpse.” 38

Thus the great man retains his radiance and stores his brilliance in preparation
of complete fulfillment. He concentrates his spirit and treasures his qi, studies
Dao and makes his mind no-mind, so that Iris spirit can merge with Dao. This
truly is realizing Dao. The Daode jing says: “He who is identified with Dao—
Dao is also happy to have him” [23]. And “Why did the ancients highly value
Dao? Did they not say, ‘Those who seek shall have it and those who sin shall
be freed’?” [62],

When a mountain contains jade its grasses and trees will not wither. When
someone embraces Dao, body-form and bones will never get rigid. Daily in¬
creasing in material subtlety, one’s disposition unites fully with spirit. By refin¬
ing the body-form to enter the subtle, one merges with Dao into one. Upon
dispersal, the body-self turns into a myriad concrete manifestations [dharmas],
just as the myriad manifestations when joining together combine to form the
body-self.

37 The idea of survival and destruction depending on the person rather than on heaven
appears in ZZ 15/6/5 and 44/17/49, and later in the Baopnj (2.4a, 4.11b, 6.6a). For Dao as
spaceless, see DD] 43, ZZ 28/11/65.

38 The method of transcendence that requires a token object (staff, sword) to be left
behind. See Robinet 1979a; Cedzich 2001.

158

Translation

Wisdom radiates boundlessly, the body-form goes beyond all limits. Compre¬
hending die emptiness of all sensory forms one is active [in the worlld]. “Har¬
boring both creation and change” [ZZ 17/6/55], one generates merit. Perfectly
in accordance with the bentless, one is nothing but Dao and potency. Thus die
'Kishengjing says: “Join your mind with Heaven and diere will be no more
knowledge. Join your body-self with Dao and there will be no more physical
structure. Then the Dao of Heaven will be perfected” [XSJ 25.4-6]. [15b] “Per¬
fected” here means that one has indeed attained die ultimate. Again it says:
“When spirit does not leave my body-self, 1 am forever one widi Dao” [26.2],

Body-self unified widi Dao means that one will survive forever. Mind unified
with Dao means that all manifestations are pervaded. Ears unified widi Dao
means that all sounds will be heard. Eyes unified with Dao means diat all sights
will be seen. Perfect inherent potency of the six senses only comes from this.

[DZ] Recendy it has become die general habit not to know the more esoteric
parts of the doctrine. People just hear of a Dao of “casting away the body-self’
and never accept that this ultimately refers to the mystery of identifying one’s
body widi Dao. Without shame for their shortcomings imitating others’ wrongs,
such people are like summer insects who don’t believe in icy frost or like fruit-
flies entirely without knowledge of Heaven and Earth [ZZ 56/21/37], Their
ignorance is so incredible—how could one enlighten them?

[YQ] There is a profound and deep advantage in perfectly discussing the mys¬
terious teaching. In an attempt to put it into words 1 therefore tried to formu¬
late the ultimate principle. The esoteric mystery of Highest Clarity is found in
applying essential cultivation to deluded conventional thinking and in using the
methods of the divine elixir to refine the body-form. Thereby knowledge and
consciousness become pervasive and reach oblivion. A zealous faith in Dao
and inherent potency develops.

Only by unifying one’s bodily constituents with Dao and by emptying one’s
mind completely are all the bondages dissolved. As soon as the cultivation
reaches as far as the bones of the body, the latter will no longer cast a shadow.
When skillful means and benevolent ingenuity come together, the spring of
Dao and one’s mind and body-form will nourish one another. Universal order
far exceeds its carriage or habitation: it enters from widi out. Yet even though
these two [i.e., order and habitation, Dao and people] are on different levels,
they ultimately return to the same goal. They both ought to reach out to the
deep and abstruse.

Neitlier talk nor silence can ever attain the subtlety of these two. Thus they
could never even be touched upon by Confucius or the Buddha. Even I know
only this much of which I’ve given an approximate outline.

Text Two

Inscription on Oblivion 1

—> I have heard my old teacher explain: Sitting in oblivion is the foundation of
long life. Thus we engage perfection to refine the body-form, and once it is
pure we merge it into qi. We retain Dao to refine qi, and once it is clear we
merge it with spirit. The physical structure unified with Dao: this is “attaining
Dao.” <— As Dao is without ultimate, how could the immortal ever die? 2

—> Perfection is the prime of Dao, thus we cleanse spirit to match perfection.
Zhuangzi says: “I smash my limbs and physical structure, drive out intellect and
perception, cast off body-form, do away with knowledge, and become one with
Great Pervasion” [ZZ 19/6/92], This is exactly what we mean. Zhuangzi also
says: “Wisdom and stillness take turns cultivating each other, thus harmony and
order emerge from still inner nature” [41/16/1]. This is just it. And he says:
“He whose inner being rests in the stability 7 of cosmic peace will send forth a
heavenly light” [63/23/41]. Here “resting” refers to the mind, while “heavenly
light” means the radiance of insight. As you stabilize your mind, the radiance of
insight develops within. By 7 this radiance you can then see the my 7 riad aspects of
projected reality, and in emptiness and oblivion you will merge mentally with
the realm of boundless serenity. This is what we call “sitting in oblivion.” <—

1 Carved in 829 at Mount Wangwu, this inscription relies on the oral transmission
brought from Mount Tongbo by a certain Mr. Xu, of whom we know nothing (Wu 1981,
47a, 48a). The text of the inscription is found in an abbreviated and slightly altered version in
the Daoshu (2.7a-8a). This translation follows the text of the inscription as given in Wu 1980
and indicates Daoshu variants in the annotation. Certain items are not specially mentioned,
notably particles in the Daoshu, such as qi S, ji 5c, and qhe ylf, and its usage of wu pj instead
of yu for “I.” To create easier access to this mix of editions, I insert forward and back
arrows (—>,<—) when sections also found in the Daoshu begin and end.

2 After the first sentence, this paragraph also appears in Shenxian hexuelun lib.

159

160

Translation

People nowadays train in popular studies and acquaint themselves with many
teachings, yet they are unable to attain the essential points of these teachings.
—> For example, there recendy was Daoist Zhao Jian who compiled a treatise
on sitting in oblivion in one juan and seven sections. Covering a broad subject
matter in intricate language, he explains a simple essential idea in extensive ar¬
guments. 3 <— He thus presents the tradition of one school, yet he is far from
matching die truly mysterious. —> Thereby he makes the reader only think of
his chapters and phrases, tempts him to merely memorize his outward ar¬
rangements (lit. doors and windows] and textual layout. This one may call sit¬
ting with a “madly racing mind” [ZZ 9/4/32], but never really sitting in obliv¬
ion. <-

Rather, when sitting in oblivion, what would there remain unforgotten? Only
then can one say: Sitting in oblivion is the gate to long life. —> Laozi says: “If I
did not have a body-self, what vexations would I have?” [DDJ 13] <— But if one
does not have a body-self and thus returns to annihilation [nirvana], shouldn’t
that be called die loss of the basis of eternal life? Yet I answer: What you would
call —> “not having a body-self’ does not refer to not having this particular
physical body. It rather means that the physical structure is unified with the
Great Dao, that one is never influenced by glorious positions 4 and does not
seek after speedy advancement. Being placid and without desires, it means to
forget that there is this body-self dependent on all kinds of tilings. <— If the
sage therefore urges us to refine spirit and merge with Dao, ascend into the
formless and unite with Dao to become one, then this is exactly the meaning of
“casting off body-form, doing away with understanding, and smashing up one’s
limbs and body.”

—> [What is highest] in eternal life is that spirit and body-form are joined in
completeness. Thus it is said: “The trigrams Qi an and Kun constitute the pat¬
tern of the changes. If Qi an and Kun were destroyed, one could no longer feel
any changes. Thus the body-form is a vessel, it is the storehouse of inner nature.
If it is destroyed, inner nature has no place to reside. <— If inner nature had no
place to reside, where in me would it b e?”[Shenxian kexue lun 11a], Thus what
we value highest about body-form and spirit is their being joined in complete¬
ness. One who only —> nourishes spirit without nourishing the body-form is
like a man who destroys his house and lives out in the open. <— How could
spirit ever rest peacefully? Rather, consciousness would continue to be trans¬
formed in the different realms and would eventually take residence in another
family. Thus it is said: “The wandering of the consciousness-soul produces
transformations” \Shenxian kexue lun 1 lb-12a]. This is just it.

3 The Daoshu presents this in a different order, placing the last sentence in the begin¬
ning of the paragraph.

4 From “unified with the Great Dao,” this section is missing in the inscription.

Inscription

161

Yet someone may say, “When at the end of life one observes one’s mind and
consciousness properly, then spirit will transcend the world and enter the realm
of perfection. It will never again fall into the evil realms of existence.” But
these words are only spoken for comfort, they —» are not words of perfection
and propriety. Now [today] there are wise men of lofty potency <— who either
excuse themselves and rest outside of worldly involvement and mundane grime
or who busde around at court and in the city and yet -» say that they are en¬
tirely oblivious of themselves and others and never make any distinction be¬
tween right and wrong. Yet, when these men see someone do evil, they inevita¬
bly knit their brows and make a face. When they see someone do good, they in
all cases brighten up and smile happily. <—

When spirit is pure and qi vigorous —> then one is deluded by this fact and con¬
siders it either good or bad, 5 but how much worse will the delusion get once
the end of life is drawing closer? <— And how will one ever be able not to be
enticed by the manifold false impressions? The mind. . . . [text illegible] will be
split. —» Thus, if existing consciousness is transformed into nonconsciousness
<— or human consciousness into animal consciousness, how could one explain
this? For example, -» the Lady of Qin was turned into a stone , which is a
case of existing consciousness being transformed into nonconsciousness. —>
Mrs. Huang was changed into a turtle <—, which exemplifies the situation of
human consciousness being transformed into animal consciousness. 6 —> Seen
from this angle, mind and consciousness are understood as being molded en¬
tirely by yin and yang. How could they ever be stable in themselves? This is
precisely why Daoists highly value body-form and spirit in joined existence [DS:
completeness], <— And how could it not be absurd and fantastic to speak of
observation while abandoning the body?

Nowadays there are frequently people -> who know that glorious positions are
worthless and vain, and who understand that life and death are one whole [DS:
track]. Yet when the end approaches they will seek out doctors and pray to the
demons. <— To these people the sages say: “He who dies but does not perish
enjoys long life” [DDJ 50], How could this be empty talk? Therefore, when one
wants to attain some level of Dao, one must first of all practice sitting in obliv¬
ion. —> [Sitting in] oblivion means the annihilation of the myriad states of pro¬
jected reality.

For this one must first understand that one holds countless deluded assump¬
tions. Next, one must stabilize the mind. Above the stable mind everything
must be free, open, coverless. Beneath the stable mind everything must be wide,

5 This part, from “one is deluded,” is not found in the inscription.

6 See Sousbenjitf§ffi3& (In Search of the Supernatural), dat. ab. 350 (see Bodde 1942;
Campany 1996), ch. 14.

162

Translation

spacey, bottomless. 7 If you just continue to remain in this state and do not
move, <— you will unite with Dao into oneness. This we call entering the state
of great stability. Once this is established, insight will arise by itself. -» When
insight first arises, <— make sure you do not labor stability. If you just continue
to observe your deluded assumptions, you will certainly attain the perfecdy
wondrous. —» However, as this body-self has not escaped the molding through
yin and yang and revolves through the grime of the world [lit. “wheel mud”],
one must rely on gold and cinnabar to undergo the metamorphosis of wings
\Shenxian kexue lun 12b], <—

Only then can one ascend and —> enter the formless, to go beyond tire remotest
points of all transformation. <— Entering the gate of the boundless, one be¬
comes fully one with Dao. This is called “attaining Dao.” —> Only after that will
yin and yang be fully controlled. <—

7 Dingguanjing, line 29. See below.

Text Three

Stability & Observation 1

[YQ 6b] ‘ ‘Numinous” means spirit. Part of Heaven, it is called numinous.
“Treasure” means valuable. Part of Earth, it is called treasure. Heaven’s numi¬
nous transformations and spirit activations are immeasurable, thus it broadly
covers everything without bounds. Earth’s host of treasures and supportive
nourishing come in a wide variety, thus it amply supports the myriad tilings. 2
This scripture is like Heaven and like Earth. [7a] It covers and supports; it is
numinous and valuable. Its merit and inherent potency are without bounds; it is
attained only by the mind direcdy. Therefore it is called a “numinous treasure.”

“Stability” refers to the stabilization of mind, a state as immovable as Earth.
“Observation” is the examination of tilings by insight, it means that one re¬
mains constantly radiant like Heaven. Stabilize the physical structure and be
free from all activity of mind, then insight will radiate without bounds. Stability
and insight jointly enhance cultivation, thus it is called “Stability and Observa¬
tion.”

The Heavenly Worthy told the Mysterious Perfected on the Left

“Left” here stands for stability, while ’’mysterious” means deep and won¬
drous [DDJ 1], “Perfected” refers to purity, to oneness without contamina-

1 This translates the Dingguan'jing from YQ 17.6b-13a, identical with DZ 400. A slighdy
variant version appears in the appendix to the Zuowanglun (DZ 1036; 15b-18a) which also
adds two sections: a paragraph reviewing the fundamental concepts of the Zuowang lun after
the first third; and the five phases of the mind before the seven stages of the body. Differ¬
ences are marked in the text under the abbreviation “ZWL.” Further variants are found in:
Guanmiaojing (DZ 326); Daode ^hetijingguangshengji (DZ 725, 49.8ab); Daoshu (DZ 1017, 2.2b-
3b); Xuan^hu xinjing %hu (DZ 574, 6b & 9b-10b); Chu^hen neidan jijao (DZ 1258, 2.3a-4a);
Nenggai ^haiman lu 5.24ab. Major discrepancies are described in the footnotes.

2 See Zhuangij 19/6/89, 34/13/15, 92/33/43.

163

164

Translation

don. Among human beings, such a person pervades and fulfills inner na¬
ture. “Told” refers to the act of speaking.

Now, if you want to cultivate Dao, 3 first give up all affairs.

Having a mind progressing forward is called “cultivate Dao.” Being com¬
pletely free from defilements is being “giving up affairs.”

Once all outer affairs are eliminated, they make no more trouble for the mind. 4

[7b] The six sensory impurities \gunas] are what the text means by “outer
affairs.” You must push them far away. The six are: sight, sound, smell,
taste, touch, and thought [dharmas]. Not being defiled by or attached to
them, we say that they are “all eliminated.” Then projected reality no
longer causes trouble for the mind and there are no more irritations \klesas\.
The mind produces no more defilements; projected reality can no longer
create irritations. Mind and projected reality both forgotten, there are nei¬
ther afflictions nor irritations. Thus the text speaks of “no more trouble
for the mind.”

Only then can you sit at peace.

Having controlled and cleansed all afflictions and irritations is called being
“at peace.” The non-arising of any state of mind is called “sit.”

In inner observation see a mind arise. 5 If you become aware of a thought aris¬
ing, immediately eliminate and destroy it. [ZWL: As it arises, so you eliminate it.]
That will allow you to find peace and stillness.

A mind of insight radiating within is called “inner observation.” As long
as impure thoughts have not been eliminated, we say “a mind arises.”
First a thought suddenly arises, then you become aware of it and follow it.
When the mind that has arisen has passed away, awareness and radiance,
are also forgotten. Thus the text says “eliminate and destroy.” The utter
non-arising of any mind is called “peace.” The awareness of inner nature
without agitation is called “stillness.” Thus the text says “peace and still¬
ness.”

3 The Guanmiaojing here has “observe the mystery.”

4 The Guanmiao jing has: “Only when all outer affairs are eliminated can one purify and
calm the thoughts in the mind.” The Daoshu says: “Outer affairs should not disturb the
mind.”

5 The first few lines of the text, in the ZWL version, read: “To cultivate Dao and
complete perfection, first get rid of depraved and bad behavior. Once all outside affairs are
eliminated, there is nothing to concern the mind. Only then can you sit upright to practice
inner observation and right awareness” (15b).

DingguanJing

165

Next, whether containing greed or attachment or not, all floating [mental] wan¬
derings and confused imaginings should be driven out completely.

When multiple minds do not arise, when deluded thoughts are entirely for¬
gotten, when no confused imaginings appear—what greed or attachment
could there be? Thus the text says they are “driven out completely.”

Practice diligently night and day, never stop for even a short moment!

“Day” here stands for a clean state while “night” means impurity. Both
have to be forgotten completely, there should be no distinction made be¬
tween them. Thus die text says, “never stop!”

Only destroy die agitated mind, don’t abandon the radiating mind! 6

Deluded imaginings and all kinds of distinctions are what make up the
“agitated mind.” By awareness and radiance you get rid of them, thus the
text says “destroy.” Insight and radiance should always be bright, widiout
the interruption of even an instant. Thus it says, “don’t abandon the radiat¬
ing mind!” [8b]

Only gather in [ZWL: merge] the empty mind, never collect the dwelling [ZWL:
being] mind. 7

A mind of utter non-arising is called an “empty mind.” Remaining alto¬
gether free from attachments is what is meant by “never collect the dwell¬
ing mind.”

Never rely on even one concrete manifestation [ZWL: tiling], and the mind will
always be dwelling [in itself].

Taking in even one concrete manifestation is called having attachment to
the phenomenal world. A mind that does not take in even one concrete
manifestation is therefore “not relying.” Radiant and constantly serene, it is
“always dwelling [in itself].”

[ZWL 16a —>] This method is mysterious and wonderful, its advantages and
gains are extremely profound.

It does not entirely depend on a former existence’s good karma or faith yet
lacking these two, one ultimately will not have perfect faith.

6 The Zhu^hen neidanjiyao comments: “Always knowing, always aware: when you don’t
abandon the radiating mind, stability and insight are full and complete.”

7 The Xuan>jju xinjing %hu comments: “Before one’s father and mother were born,
there was no mind, there were no things. Thus one’s being was not fixed at all. Inner imagin¬
ings do not leave, outer fantasies do not enter.” The last sentence also appears in the later
Uaoshenjing fj'fig (Scripture of Realizing the Body-Self, DZ 25), la, 3b.

166

Translation

And even thorough knowledge and frequent recital of this text will be no sub¬
stitute for a perfect understanding of its veracity.

Yet, if you have this—how could sights or sounds disturb your mind, evil and
slander touch your ears?

If I see my inner nature in relation to my ego and to other people, my sickness
is very serious indeed.

As long as the mind is separated from Dao, it is hard to awaken to cosmic or¬
der.

But if the mind is to return to perfect Dao, full of profound nature and faithful
longing, it must first of all receive Three Precepts:

1. Detachment from karmic conditions

This means that one selects what is essential and abandons all potentially
disturbing tilings. The Daodejing says: “To have little is to possess, to have
plenty is to be perplexed” [22 ]: 8

2. Freedom from desires 9

This means that one should get rid off all craving and searching. The Daode
jing [1] says: “Let there always be no desires so that the subtle may be ob¬
served.”

3. Stillness of mind

This means that one should stop and intercept all the ups and downs of
mental activity. As the Kishengjing says: “Get rid of all defilements, inter¬
cept all thoughts, calm the mind and guard the One!” [39.10]

If one diligently practices in observance of these precepts, never being lazy or
lax about them, then one will pursue Dao with no-mind and Dao will naturally
come to stay.

The 'Kishengjing says: “If human beings are empty, latent, and free from ac¬
tion, they may not desire Dao, yet Dao naturally returns to them.” 10 [36.10]

Seen from this angle, the method of detachment and profundity can really be
trusted! Can truly be esteemed! [<— ZWL 16b]

8 The commentary to these precepts comes from Daoshu 2.3a. It is not found in the
Zuowang lun.

9 This is also one of the basic nine precepts according to the Kianger %hu. See Kohn
2004, 59.

10 This is an allusion to Daode jing 23: “Who joins Dao, Dao will also join. Who joins
inherent potency, inherent potency will never leave.”

DingguanJing

167

Yet, the normal mind is hasty and competitive. First learn to calm this mind—it
is very hard. Calmness may not be found, or it arrives [ZWL: is attained] for an
instant and is lost again.

This means that in working with inner nature, afflictions and irritations are
very hard to destroy. The power of stability not established yet, so “it
comes for an instant and is lost again.” [9a]

Drive out all remaining interactions and struggles [of the mind], which makes
all parts of the body flow about [ZWL: sweat profusely].

The mind gives rise to defiled visions of projected reality which in turn
imprison it. Mind and projected reality duly come to defile each other. This
is what is meant by “interactions and struggles [of the mind].” If deluded
imaginings do not stop, all sorts of wrong ideas come forth, which is when
“all parts of the body flow about.”

For a long time practice meditation [ZWL: train it gendy], and eventually the
mind will adjust and mature. If you cannot hold it in even for an instant, you
will forfeit the training of a thousand lives [ZWL: your whole life].

A stabilized mind in a state of non-arising is aligned with perfection and
constancy. If even one thought is not held in, it means another thousand
lives.

Once you have attained a little self-purification, continue the practice walking,
staying, sitting, lying down.

The initial achievement of clarity and purity does not yet mean the arising
of right insight. Thus it says, “attain a little.” Thus practice self-purification
in all four periods of dignified observances.

Whether in a spot of excitement or in a situation of upheaval, always create an
intention to be at peace [ZWL: intentionally make it peaceful].

Seeing all sorts of phenomena means “a spot of excitement.” The arising
of various states of mind is “a situation of upheaval.” Calming confusion
and returning to serenity is “creating an intention.” Attaining a space of
complete tranquility means being ”at peace.” [9b]

Whether involved in affairs or free from affairs, constantly maintain no-mind!
Whether in stillness or upheaval, your will be one only!

Existence and nonexistence dismissed alike, serenity and activation both
forgotten, the myriad concrete manifestations seen as nondual—this is
called “one only.”

168

Translation

If you tie the mind down too tightly, you will produce disease. The breath be¬
comes irregular and crazy: those are its symptoms. 11

Using a lopsided mind to clutch stillness is called “tying down the mind.”
The mind seeing phenomena on the outside is called “crazy.”

Should the mind be completely immobile, let it go to respond [to things]. As
you attain the right spot between laxity and tension, it naturally adjusts and en¬
trains.

When insight arises from stability, we speak of ’’letting die mind go to re¬
spond [to tilings].” Stability and insight in equal measure is “attaining the
right spot.” An imbalance in favor of stability is called stupidity [dullness
of mind]. A lopsidedness toward insight means craziness [hyperactivity of
mind]. The measured functioning of stability and insight is “adjusted and
entrained. ” [10a]

Controlled yet unattached, free yet not agitated [ZWL: unattached], in upheaval
without negativity [ZWL: agitation], in excitement without afflictions: such is
perfect stability! 12

Serene yet steadily radiant, radiant yet constandy serene, empty yet steadily
functioning, functioning yet constantly empty—this is the attainment of
original and primordial serenity, thus described as “perfect stability.”

If you don’t develop afflictions when met with excitement, don’t set out in
search of more excitement! If you don’t give rise to negativity in times of up¬
heaval, don’t increase it by intention! 13

Restrain your inner nature in contact with the impurities and hardships of
the world. Always keep it under tight control and never let it break loose.

Rather, make freedom from affairs your perfect home [ZWL: stability], and
when there are affairs, just go along with their outward manifestations [lit.:
traces].

See how your original inner nature is empty and serene and make it “your
perfect home.” See how insight functions without limits and “just go along
with the traces. ” [10b]

11 The Daoshu reads: “.. . brings disease and a crazy mind.”

12 The Daoshu adds: “Having reached this, do not presume on it!”

13 The Guanmiao jing summarizes the following section: “Rather, stabilize the spirit in
stillness for a long time, and the heavenly light will begin to radiate of itself. Never forcefully
or hastily try to make it shine because that would only injure essential nature. In a state of
stillness, see that there is nothing to grasp. Because if there still is something you could grasp,
this would pervert and disturb perfection.”

DingguanJing

169

Like a water mirror reflects everything so you should go along with tilings and
reflect their forms.

Original mind is as clear and pure as “a water mirror.” Its radiance func¬
tions without obstruction, so the myniad tilings all appear in it. Thus the
text says, “reflect their forms.”

Beneficent skillfulness and expedient means are used to enter stability!

All concrete manifestation are empty in their inner nature, so serenity does
not arise from anything. Thus it speaks of “entering stability.”

Insight will arise sooner or later, yet it never comes from human [efforts]. So
never in stability get nervous in your efforts toward insight!

Being nervous and tense only injures inner nature [ZWL: stability 7 ]. Once there
is such injury, there is no chance of insight.

Nervously pursuing the knowledge and vision of perfect stability causes
deluded greed for and attachments to the phenomenal world. Thus the text
says: “no chance of insight.”

In stability 7 never actively 7 pursue insight. Insight will arise naturally 7 , and only
then it is perfect insight. 14

Physical structure and mind serene and still, they function wondrously
without bounds. This is called “perfect insight.” [11a]

Having insight without using it is being wise in fact but ignorant in appearance.

Never allowing any 7 distinctions in the mind is what is meant by “not using
insight.” Shading one’s light and hiding one’s traces is being “ignorant in
appearance.”

Stability 7 and insight thus increase and develop into unmatched beauty.

Serenity 7 and radiance in equal measure—both reach “unmatched beauty.”

However, if in a state of stability there are thoughts and fantasies, manifold
delusions and a host of evils, then specters and wicked spirits will appear ac¬
cordingly.

The images taken in by the mind come to life and all the wicked spirits vie
with each other to raise confusion.

14 The Daoshu has: “In stability 7 , when you actively pursue insight, this will injure your
stability. Stability will then persist without insight.”

170

Translation

But when you see the Heavenly Worthy, the host of immortals or perfected,
this is an auspicious sign. 15

Yet, since these are mere phenomena as well, make sure not to develop any
attachment to them.

Just watch out: above the stable mind everything is free and open and coverless;
beneath the stable mind everything is wide and spacey and bottomless. 16 [lib]

No thought of the past: “coverless.” No thought of the future: “bottom¬
less.”

Old karma diminishes daily [ZWL: forever], new karma is never produced.

Old deeds being used up, that’s “old karma diminishes daily.” No rise
given to any state of mind, that’s “new karma is never produced.”

No more bondage or obstructions—you are free from fetters and defilements.

Being utterly free from attachments is having “no more bondage or ob¬
structions.” Being totally liberated and without any ties is being “stripped
free from all fetters and defilements.”

Practicing on and on for a very long time, naturally you attain Dao.

Insight radiating continually without interruption is ’’practicing on and on
for a very long time.” The state which duly arises of alignment with cosmic
order, of harmony with truth, is called “realizing Dao.” [12a]

Those who attain Dao typically undergo [ZWL: five phases in their mind and]
seven stages in their body-self. 17

[ZWL 17b —»] The Five Phases of the Mind are:

1. Much agitation, little stillness.

2. Agitation and stillness in balance.

3. Much stillness, little agitation.

4. Still in times of leisure, upon involvement return to agitation.

5. The mind fully at one with Dao, no agitation even in involvement. 18

15 The ZWL here has: “But when you see perfected or Lord Lao, divine wonders and
amazing sights, this is an auspicious sign” (17a).

16 The imagery of this verse is taken from the “Yuanyou” (Far-off journey) in the
ancient Chuci (Songs of the South): “In the sheer depth below, the earth was invisible; in the
vastness above, the sky could not be seen” (Hawkes 1959, 86).

17 The Daoshu adds: “These are arranged according to increasing depth.”

DingguanJing

171

Only upon reaching this level can the mind experience peace and happiness. 19
All guilt and defilements have passed away completely, and there are no more
contaminations nor afflictions. 20 [<— ZWL 17b]

The Seven Stages of the Body are:

1. The mind attains stability with ease and is constantly aware of all defilements
and outflows. 21

2. Diseases inherited from former lives [ZWL: and nervousness] gradually di¬
minish, body-self and mind become light and clear.

Perfect qi and embryo respiration heal all diseases. Embodying Dao, at one
with perfection, the body-self is light and does not age.

3. Forestalling the tendency of untimely death, one returns to one’s years [ZWL:
to the prime] and recovers destiny [DDJ 16] 22

Bones and filling strong and full, one can “forestall the tendency of un¬
timely death.” Youthful appearance never changing, “one returns to one’s
years and recovers destiny.”

4. Extending life to several [ten] thousand years: be called an immortal. [12b]

Living forever and never dying, extending life for several ten thousand
years: this is called being enrolled in the immortals’ registers. Thus one is
“called an immortal.”

5. Refining the body-form to qrP be called a perfected.

Attaining original, primordial qi, this is “refining the body-form to qi.”
Maintaining an upright inner nature and being without falsehood: this is “a
perfected.”

18 The Xuanghu xinjing ghu offers the variant: “Whether at leisure or in excitement,
there is no agitation even in involvement.”

19 The Xuanghu xinjing ghu adds: “Embracing the prime and guarding the One, body
and spirit are empty and at rest. Yet there is still a will. Only later awareness is aroused, and
the functioning of Dao is daily new.”

20 Du Guangting in his Daode ghenjingguangshengji changes the final line to read: “This
is the ultimate freedom from defilements.” He adds: “The five phases [of the mind] are dif¬
ferent manifestations of the practice of Dao. The seven stages [of the body] are its result.
They are only attained through continuous practice.”

21 ZWL: “All conduct and activity in line with the occasion, appearance and complex¬
ion are in harmony with inner joy.” Du Guangting has: “The mind realizes full stability and
awareness; there are no more impurities.”

22 The Xuanghu xinjing ghu adds: “The limits of normal existence are transcended; in
appearance one gains a youthful complexion.”

23 The Xuanghu xinjing ghu here uses “body-self.”

172

Translation

6. Refining qi to spirit: be called a spirit person.

As perfect qi you pervade spirit, [one with] yin and yang unfathomable: be
called “a spirit person.” 24

7. Refining spirit to join Dao: be called an utmost being! 25

Perfect spirit matching Dao: this is the “utmost being.”

Upon this [transformation] the power of reflection grows the higher the
brighter. 26

The “power of reflection” means being constantly radiant without stop¬
ping. “Grow brighter” means it sparkles and glitters without interruption.

Fully having attained utmost Dao, insight is also full and complete. [13a]

If you have realized original inner nature, this is “having attained utmost
Dao.” “Insight full and complete,” the myriad concrete manifestations all
merge.

However, if someone has studied stability of mind for a long time, yet has not
achieved even the first of the [ZWL: Five Phases or] Seven Stages in his body-
self, is thus growing older in defilement and obstruction, loses vigor and even¬
tually dies [ZWL: says of himself that he possesses insight and awareness], 27
and maintains that he has completed Dao ZWL: striven to pervade cosmic or¬
der, but has not in fact done so—then one must call him a cheat.]—if there is
such a one, then one must know that he is not in fact pursuing the perfect
principle of Dao.

Pervading spirit and at-one with Dao, the body-self has attained Dao and
perfection. However, if the mind experiences [Dao], yet one dies in one’s
body-self, then one will not leave the realm of birth and death. The Xisheng

24 See Yijing, Xici 1.5: “Yin and yang unfathomable is called spirit.”

25 Du Guangting here has “sage” instead of ghiren T? A. The Xuanghu xinjing %hu has a
different version of this stage, closer to that found in Sun’s Cunshen lianqi ming. “Going be¬
yond the Three Worlds, one is ranked as an emperor of emptiness, a lord of great brilliance
of the Great Dao. As such one pervades all spirit and numinosity while one’s wisdom en¬
compasses the myriad things.”

26 The Xuan^hu xinjing ghu has: “The higher you ascend in these stages, the brighter
your mirror becomes.”

27 The Guanmiaojing concludes this differently: “Wanting to attain perfect Dao in this
way—I have never heard of that!” The Xuawjou xinjing %hu gives yet another variant: “But
people nowadays may study Dao to the end of their days, yet don’t even achieve the first
stage. Instead they grow older in defilement and obstruction, lose their vigor and eventually
die. Yet they maintain they have attained Dao and penetrated . That this could be true I have
never yet heard!”

DingguanJing

173

jing says: “If you have lost the root of life, how can you know the primor¬
dial source of Dao?” [8.11]

The Heavenly Worthy concluded by reciting the following gather? 9.

Knowledge arises from projected reality;

Burning comes from karmic conditions;

Each has the tendency to agitate inner nature

And going along with them means losing the source of Dao.

Giving rise to a mind full of desire to stop knowledge,

This mind will give rise to knowledge and increase afflictions.

Only by fully knowing that inner nature is originally empty
Can knowledge lead to the “gate of all wonders.”

28 This appears only in the Dingguan jing version of the text.

Text Four

Refining Qi 1 2

Sun Simiao

[DZ la]The body-self is the habitation of spirit and qi. As long as spirit and qi
are [made] present, the body-self is strong and healthy. As soon as spirit and qi
scatter, the body-self dies. Therefore, if you want to keep your body-self pre¬
sent, first see that spirit and qi are at peace. Qi is the mother of spirit, thus spirit
is the son of qi. Only when both are together can you live forever and not die.

Now, to pacify spirit, first refine primordial qi. When this qi resides in the body-
self, spirit is at peace and qi is like an ocean. If this ocean of qi 1 is full to over¬
flowing, the mind is at peace and spirit stabilized. When this inner stability [YQ:
spirit and qi\ is not lost, body-self and mind are gathered in stillness. Stillness
then grows further into stability, and the body-self continues to exist for years
eternal.

Dwell constandy on the source [YQ: prime] of Dao, and naturally you become
a sage. Qi then pervades spirit and projected reality, while spirit pervades in¬
sight and original destiny [YQ: inner nature]. Destiny settled and the body-self

1 Cunshen lianqi ming (DZ 834, YQ 33.12a-14b). The main part of this text, the five
phases of the mind and the seven stages of the body, form an important section of the Ding-
guanjing, which appears as appendix to the Zuowang lun and is translated below.

2 The Ocean of Qi (qihai MX) is the lower elixir field, located deep inside the body
slightly beneath the navel. It is the energetic center of the person, especially in men—equal
to the Cavity of Qi (qixue qfyQ, the middle elixir field, in the chest in women. In Daoist
body lore, it is the seat of a second Mount Kunlun, the first being in the head. In medicine, it
is an acupuncture point on the Conception Vessel (CV-6) as well as on the Belt Vessel.

174

CUNSHEN LlANQI MlNG

175

fully present, you reach harmony with perfect inner nature. Thus you attain an
age as old as the sun and the moon. Dao perfected, you reach die ultimate
realm.

If you w r ant to learn the technique of refinement of qi as described here, you
must first of all stop eating grains. Then focus your mind peacefully on the
Ocean of Qi, [lb] visualize spirit in the elixir field, control the mind, and quiet
your thinking. Once the Ocean of Qi is replenished, you always feel satiated
naturally.

In the cultivation of mental one-pointedness, a hundred days mean a minor
achievement, whereas three hundred days bring a major level. Only after this
can you enter the five phases [of the mind]. Having passed through these, you
undergo the seven stages [of the body]. As pure spirit and numinosity you then
go on changing, naturally present through all arising and passing away. Whether
confronting a steep cliff or a thousand miles’ distance, you go or stay without
obstruction.

As long as qi does not disperse and the Ocean of Qi is full, spirit calmly rests in
the elixir field and body-self and mind are continually firm. Naturally a youthful
complexion wall return and stay on despite changes occurring in your physical
structure. Once immortality is perfected, appearing and disappearing from the
common world will merely be a free passage of numinosity throughout the
changes. This, then, is what we call “going beyond the world.” One who ac¬
complishes this is called a “perfected.” Aligning Iris years with Heaven and
Earth, he grows to be as old as the sun and the moon.

In this technique there is no need to absorb qi, swallow saliva, or undergo hard¬
ships. Eat when you need to, rest when you feel tired. 3 Spontaneously present
and naturally free, you are without hindrance, without obstruction. Pass
through the five phases and seven stages to enter the very center of stabiliza¬
tion and observation. Studying Dao like this, you first attain

3 This attitude goes back to the Zhuang y/', and is found expressed most clearly in Zhi
Dun’s commentary to the first chapter: “When I’m hungry, I still my hunger. When I’m
thirsty, I drink my fill.” It is also common in Chan/Zen literature, e.g., the Unji lu (see
Schloegl 1976).

176

Translation

The Five Phases of the Mind 4

1. The mind experiences much agitation and litde stillness. Thinking is condi¬
tioned by a myriad different aspected of projected reality, accepting this and
rejecting that without any constancy whatsoever. [2a] Dreads and worries,
plans and calculations keep racing on inside like wild horses. This is the normal
mind.

2. The mind experiences a little stillness and much agitation. One controls agi¬
tation and enters stillness [YQ: entering the mind], yet the mind at once is scat¬
tered again. It is very hard to control and subdue, to curb its agitation and en¬
tanglement. This is the beginning of progress toward Dao.

3. The mind experiences half agitation and half stillness. The quiet state of
mind is like that of a controlled mind already, but this state cannot be main¬
tained for long. Stillness and scatter-brain are about equal, one makes die mind
care about its own agitation and entanglement, thus it gradually gets used to
stillness.

4. The mind experiences plenty of stillness and only occasional agitation. One
becomes gradually versed in controlling the mind, thus any agitation that arises
is checked at once. The mind is fully one-pointed and when one-pointedness is
lost it is immediately recovered.

5. The mind is turned entirely toward clarity and stillness. Whether involved in
or free from affairs, there is no agitation at all. From an efficiently controlled
mind, firmness and solidity arise [DZ: dispersing tendencies are stabilized] and
stability develops.

Only after one is firmly established in this can one enter the seven stages. Just
leave all to the natural process and let it find spontaneous attainment. There is
nothing to be actively done. [2b]

4 These phases match those listed in the Dingguanjing, except that it omits Phase 2 here
and instead adds as Phase 4: “Stillness in times of leisure, upon involvement return to agita¬
tion.”

CUNSHEN LL4NQI MlNG

177

The Seven Stages of the Body 5

1. The diseases inherited from former lives diminish, the body-self grows light
and the mind translucent. The mind is now totally at rest within, spirit is still,
and qi at peace. The four elements [of fire, water, earth, and air] are joined in
harmony, the six types of sensations [through seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
touching, and thinking] are deeply serene. With the mind at peace in die myste¬
rious realm, continue to embrace the One and guard the center. Joy and exulta¬
tion daily new: this is called “attaining Dao.”

2. Going beyond the limits of ordinary life, you recover a youthful complexion.
The body-form in a state of joy, the mind constantly at peace, you pervade nu-
minosity and gain penetrating vision. Best move to a different part of the coun¬
try, choose a spot and settle down. It is better not to be a too old acquaintance
with the local folk.

3. Extending your years to a thousand, be called an immortal. Travel exten¬
sively to famous mountains, flying or walking, spontaneously present; you have
azure lads as guards and jade maidens for entertainment. Stepping high on mist
and haze, colored clouds support your tread.

4. Refining your body-self to qi, qi becoming your body-self, be called a per¬
fected. [3a] Appearing and disappearing in spontaneous presence, your glitter¬
ing light radiates of itself, night and day in equal brightness. Traverse through
grottos and palaces [in ecstatic flight] with immortals in attendance.

5. Refining qi to spirit, be called a spirit person. Changing and passing on in
spontaneous presence, your activities and functions are without bounds. Your
inherent potency can move Heaven and Earth, remove mountains and drain
the sea.

6. Refining spirit to unify with the world of form, be called an utmost being.
Your spirit pervades numinosity, your appearance and body-form are no longer
definite. You change according to occasion and go along with tilings to appear
in different forms.

7. Going [YQ: Rising high] beyond all tilings in your body-self, whirl out of all
relations and reside next to the Jade Emperor of the Great Dao in the Numi¬
nous Realm. Here the wise and sagely gather, at the farthest shore and in ulti¬
mate perfection. In creative change, in numinous pervasion, you reach to all
tilings. Having taken your cultivation this far, you have reached the source of
Dao. Here the myriad paths come to an end. This is called the ultimate realm.

5 The DZ edition does not have this title. The Dingguanjing version adds a preliminary
first stage and leaves out the highest, seventh level.

178

Translation

People nowadays study Dao less and less every day, and as they don’t even
achieve the first stage, how would they ever attain numinous pervasion? [3b]
Rather, they continue to preserve their stupidity and passions, they deter¬
minedly hold on to their defilements and personal dispositions. With the four
seasons moving on in their course, their bodies and appearances falter until the
physical structure collapses and they return to nothingness. Someone who calls
this realizing Dao certainly is a hypocrite.

On the other hand, the combined methods of embryo respiration and intro¬
spective observation allow keeping of spirit and preserving of the body-form.
[YQ: Original patriarchs of old have handed these methods down to us today,
but in their first beginning they were conceived and transmitted by perfected.]

The methods were preserved only through oral transmission and never put
down in writing. If a virtuous person of perfection [YQ: a man of inherent po¬
tency and determination] by chance comes into contact with them, he must by
all means be very diligent and careful about them. He must preserve and follow
them without harboring any doubts. It will be only the wise and the worthy
who will encounter this sagely text.

Text Five

Inner Observation 1

Lord Lao said:

[lb] Heaven and Earth mingle their essences; yin and yang engage in inter¬
change. Thus the myriad tilings come to life, each receiving a particular karmic
destiny: yet all one in that they share in numinous Dao. 2 When father and
mother unite in harmony, human beings receive life.

In the first month, essence and blood coagulate in the womb.

In the second month, the embryo form begins to take form.

In the third month, the yang-spirit rouses the three spirit souls to life.

In the fourth month, the yin-numen settles the seven material souls as
guardians of the body-form.

In the fifth month, the five phases divide among die organs to settle
their spirits.

In the sixth month, the six pitches stabilize in the six intestines to
nourish numen.

In the seventh month, the seven essential stars open the orifices to
connect to cosmic light.

1 This translates the Neiguan jing as found in DZ 641 with variants in YQ 17.1a-6b
indicated in brackets. Passages also found in the Chuanshoujingjiefalu lueshuo (DZ 1241, 2.5b-
7a) of 713 are marked at their occurrence with “CS —►” and “<—

2 This echoes Guo Xiang: “Though beings may be big or small ... in that they all have
a share [in Dao] they should go along with in a state of free and easy wandering, they are all
alike” (DZ 745, 1.1a).

179

180

Translation

In the eighth month, the eighth phosphors spirits descend with perfect
numen. 3

In the ninth month, the palaces and chambers are properly arranged to
stabilize essence.

In the tenth month, qi is strong enough and the image is complete. 4

[Throughout] Primordial harmony never stops its feeding and support.

The Lord Emperor of the Great One resides in the head. He is called the Lord
of Niwan [Palace]. Radiating vitality, consciousness, and all spirits, he is peo¬
ple’s [central] soul. [2a] The Ruler of Destiny resides in the heart. He regulates
the prime energies of life [YQ: source of the mind], Wuying occupies his left,
from where he manages he three spirit souls. Baiyuan occupies the right, from
where he organizes the seven material souls. Taohai resides in the navel, from
where he preserves the root of the essence. Irradiating all the hundred joints,
they give life to the hundred spirits. 5

Because of their presence throughout the body, spirit is never vacuous. Pri¬
mordial qi enters through the nose and reaches the Niwan [in the head], so
spirit shines forth and the body-form is firm and at peace. For all movement
and rest, however, it fully depends on the mind. This is how life first begins.

Look at this carefully in inner observation. [CS —>] The mind is in control. As
the ruler of the body-self it can prohibit and control everything, making sure
that body-form and spirits do not become wayward. [YQ: It limits and controls
the body spirits], “The mind is spirit” [ZZ 48/19/11], Its changes and trans¬
formations cannot be fathomed and does not have a stable form [see ZWL 2b-
3a, 13b], In the five organs, the following spirit manifestations reside:

3 The seven essential stars (also called primes and luminants) are the five planets (Mars,
Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn) plus the sun and the moon. Already in the commentary
to the Huangting neijingjing 17:3 they are associated with the body orifices. The eight phos¬
phors are described as the chiefs of the twenty-four gods presiding over the constructive and
defensive energies in the human body (commentary to Huangting neijingjing 23:8). See Strick-
mann 1979, 173; Robinet 1979, 94.

4 The same passage describing the development of the human embryo is also found in
the Hutiyuan shubingpian (YQ 29.1ab). An earlier version is contained in the Yinjuanjing^SffiHt

(Scripture of Karmic Retribution, DZ 336), 8.1b-2a. An early description of the devel¬
opment of the human embryo appears in / luainansj 7.

5 Niwan is the upper elixir field and one of the nine palaces in the head {Huangting
neijingjing 21.14, comm.) and the god of the brain in (7.4), as which he governs the gods of
the face (7.10). The other gods named here are princes of the Great One (15.11). Wuying
especially is described as residing on the right (11.7). Taohai is also known as Daogeng or
Bodao; he resides in the lower elixir field or in the navel (15.10). See also Hao^i 3 hongjing (YQ
18.16b-17b). The passage lists the same deities also described in Chuanshou lueshuo 2.4b.

NeiguanJing

181

spirit soul in the liver;
material soul in the lungs;
essence in the kidneys;
intention in the spleen;
spirit in the heart. 6

Their appellations vary in accordance with their respective positions. The heart
belongs to the phase fire. Fire is the essence of the south and of greater yang.
Above it is governed by the planet Mars, below it corresponds to the heart. [2b]
Its color is red and it consists of three valves that resemble a lotus leaf. As the
light of pure spirit is rooted there, it is named thus. 7

Spirit is [YQ: neither black nor white], neither red nor yellow, neither big nor
small, neither short nor long, neither crooked nor straight, neither soft nor hard,
neither thick nor thin, neither round nor square. 8 It goes on changing and
transforming without measure, merges with yin and yang, greatly encompasses
Heaven and Earth, subtly enters the tiniest blade of grass [.'Kishengjing 7 and 17],
Controlled it is straightforward, let loose it goes mad. Clarity and purity make it
live, turbidity and defilements cause it to perish. \Qingjingjing 2a]. Fully bright, it
radiates to the eight ends of the universe. Darkened, it confuses even a single
direction. Keep it empty and serene, and life and Dao will spontaneously be
constant. Maintain it in nonaction, and the body-self will prosper. [YQ: The
world thinks that] Because spirit is formless, nobody can give it a fitting name.
All good and bad fortune, all success and failure only come from it. [<—]

Thus the sage establishes rulers and minister, clarifies rewards and punishments,
sets up officials and adiminstrators, and arranges laws and regulations to prop¬
erly instruct people. People having a hard time submitting to these is because of
their minds. When die mind is clear and pure, the myriad misfortunes do not
arise. 9 All ups and downs, life and death, all vicissitudes and evils arise from the
mind. [3a] All delusion and fantasy, love and hate, all accepting and rejecting,
coming and going, all defilements and attachments, as well as all entanglement
and bondage arise gradually from becoming involved in tilings. Madly turning
hither and thither, tied up and fettered, one is unable to get free. Thus one is
bound for peril and destruction.

Oxen and horses when led properly can easily wade through the marsh [see
ZWL 5b], When let loose, however, they will sink in deeper and deeper and can

6 These correspondences are classic in traditional Chinese medicine. See Huangdi neijing
lingshu (DZ 1020, 2.4ab). For more details, see Ishida 1982, 3; Kohn 2005, 43.

7 This explanation of the phase-correlations of the organs is left out in CS.

8 Cited in Dadao lun (DZ 1037), 17b.

9 Already Guo Xiang notes that the perfect man will “always step into good fortune”
(ch. 8) and “will never be befallen by calamities” (ch. 1; Knaul 1985, 30; Robinet 1983).

182

Translation

never get out again by themselves. So they have to die. People are just like this:
when first bom their original spirit is clear and still, translucent and unadulter¬
ated. Then, however, they perceive that they have a body-form. This body form
causes defilements through the six senses:

If there are eyes, one will covet color.

If there are ears, one will block out noise.

If there is a mouth, one will indulge in flavors.

If there is a nose, one will take in smells, [cf. DDJ 12]

The mind intent on [YQ: embraces] refusing and coveting,

The body-self desires to be fatter or slimmer.

From all these ups and downs no one is can wake by himself. [ZWL 8a], Thus
the sages with compassionate consideration established the doctrine to teach
people to reform. They made them use inner observation of self and body in
order to purify the mind.

Lord Lao said:

Now observe that your body-self has arisen from emptiness and nonbeing in
accordance with karmic conditioning and opportune encounters. An accumula¬
tion of essence and an assemblance of qi, a coming down of florescence [YQ:
karma] and a descent of spirit—when all these come together, one receives life.

[3b]

Patterned on Heaven and symbolizing Earth, inhaling yin and exhaling yang,
you share in the five phases and go along with the four seasons. The eyes are
the sun and the moon. The hair is the stars and the planets. The eyebrows are
the flowery canopy [Cassiopeia], The head is Mount Kunlun. 10 An array of
towers and palaces keeps essence and spirit at peace.

Among the myriad tilings, humans are most numinous. Their inner nature and
destiny being in harmony with Dao, they should always love them and practice
inner observation of their body-self. In all creation only human beings are truly
[YQ: who would be more] venerable, yet they do not think of themselves as
noble. Foolishly defiled by the grime of the world, they reek of impurity [YQ:
agitation]. Disturbed and confused in body-form and spirit, how could they
observe themselves and others and judge which is dearer and which more dis¬
tant? Preservation of Dao and long life are attained by doing good and preserv¬
ing perfection. But people of the world are ignorant and keep themselves busy
with trifles, thereby bringing hardship and misery upon themselves.

10 The concept of an anthropomorphic cosmos is reflected in the creation myth of the
cosmic giant Pangu (Skt. Purusha; see Lincoln 1975), which has also been told about Laozi.
It is found in YQ 3.15bb and 56.1b, with an earlier version in the Xiaodao bin (T. 52.144b;
Kohn 1995, 54).

NeiguanJing 183

Lord Lao said: [CS—>]

The allotment people receive from Dao is called destiny.

The body-form people are endowed with by the One is called inner na¬
ture.

That by which people respond to tilings is called mind.

That which the mind considers is called intention.

That which results from intention is called will.

The state where none among tilings is not known is called wisdom.

The wisdom that encompasses the myriad things is called insight. [<—]
That which moves and regulates the body-self is called spirit soul.

That which quiets and manages the body-form is called material soul. [4a]
That which circulates through bones and flesh is called blood.

That which preserves spirit and nourishes qi is called essence.

Qi when clear and swift is called constructive.

Qi when turbid and slow is called protective. 11

That which combines and manages the hundred spirits is called body-self.
That which relays a vision among the myriad images is called body-form.
That which keeps it clod-like and cohesive is called solidity.

That which allows appearance to be measured is called physical structure.
That which is arranged according to bigger and smaller is called physis.
That which cannot be fathomed by the host of thoughts is called spirit.
That which forever corresponds to transformations is called numen.

That which happens when qi enters the body-self is called life.

That which occurs when spirit leaves the body is called death. 12

[CS —>] That which pervades all life is called Dao. When Dao is there, it yet has
no form. When it is not there, it yet has an impact |lit.: feeling; see ZZ 4/2/16,

11 See Huatigdi neijing lingshu 8.6b.

12 The YQ gives a different list of psychological definitions:

The coming together of the qi of life is called essence.

The workings of essence are called numen or life-force.

The transformations of the life-force are called spirit.

The changes of spirit are called spirit souls.

The force that follows the workings of spirit souls is called consciousness.

The coming and going of essence is manifest in the material souls.

The force that rules and organizes essence and the material souls is called the mind.
When the mind touches something, there is sensual perception.

What arises from sensual perception is called intention.

When intention is directed towards an aim, it is called the will.

When the will becomes clear, there is a thought.

Thoughts regarding distant objects are called plans or ideas.

Ideas that can be applied in reality constitute wisdom.

It is through wisdom that consciousness arises. (14.13b)

184

Translation

16/6/29], Changing and transforming, it cannot be measured; it pervades spirit
and tire host of living tilings. When residing in people’s body-self, it is spirit
light. This is called the mind.

Thus teaching people to cultivate Dao means to teach them to cultivate the
mind. Teaching people to cultivate the mind means to teach them to cultivate
Dao. Dao cannot be seen, so one must rely on life itself to clarify it. Life cam-
not be constant, so one must apply Dao to guard it. When life perishes, Dao is
lost. When Dao is lost, life perishes. [4b] Only when life and Dao are com¬
bined in harmony will there be long life and no death. Undergoing the trans¬
formation of wings, one becomes a spirit immortal. 13 The reason why people
cannot preserve Dao is because they do not practice inner observation of their
minds. Practicing inner observation without stopping, life and Dao remain for¬
ever.” [<—]

Lord Lao said:

The reason why people float in and out of the evil ways [of lower rebirths] and
continue to be immersed in vanities and defilements is that their six senses give
rise to delusion and bring forth the six states of consciousness [sensory impuri¬
ties, Dingguanjing 7b]. These six in turn bring forth divisions and distinctions, 14
fetters and bondage, love and hate, coming and going, accepting and rejecting,
as well as defilements and attachments, afflictions and irritations. Thus people
remain forever separate from Dao.

Thus people should practice inner observation of the karmic conditions and
arising of the six states of consciousness. Where do the six forms of desiring
consciousness arise? Consciousness arises from desires. Where do desires come
from? Desires arise from consciousness. [YQ: Consciousness arises tfom the
mind, the mind arises from ego, ego arises from desires]. 15 Once deluded imag¬
inings and perverted views come forth, there is consciousness.

He also said:

What we call spontaneity or nonaction is originally empty and still. It is funda¬
mentally free from consciousness. But as soon as there is the consciousness of

13 The expression “transformation of wings” is already used in the Uexian ghuan to
describe the process of becoming an immortal. Immortals were thought to be transformed
either through fire or by some inner means into light, ethereal substances or creatures that
could fly. Thus one finds numerous images of immortals with feathers on Han dynasty
bronze mirrors. In later mystical texts, the expression denotes the ultimate metamorphosis
of an ordinary mortal into a celestial being. See Daoshu 2.8a.

14 Already Guo Xiang points out that divisions and distinctions are the major symp¬
toms of Dao loss. “If right and wrong were not there, Dao would still be complete. With the
destruction of Dao emotions begin to be partial and love develops” (ZZ 2; Knaul 1985, 25).

15 See also Benjijing 5,1.. 115-125 (Ofuchi 1979, 320).

NeiguanJing

185

divisions and distinctions, wayward perspectives begin to arise. Once such
wayward perspectives appear, people are engulfed by afflictions and irritations,
involvements and entanglements, fetters and bondages, ups and downs, life and
death. They are forever lost to Dao. [5a]

Lord Lao said:

Dao is free from life and death, but the body-form does undergo life and death.
Thus we say that life and death are characteristics of the body-form, but not
characteristics of Dao. The body-form only comes to life when it receives Dao.
The body-form only dies when it loses Dao. Whoever is able to preserve life
and guard Dao will live forever and not perish.”

Lord Lao said:

To someone who can maintain die mind in clarity and stillness Dao will come
and stay of itself [ZWL 4b], When Dao comes to stay of itself, spirit shines
bright and remain suffusing the body-self. When spirit shines bright and re¬
mains suffusing the body-self, life will not perish [XSJ 29],

People always desire life, but they are unable to empty their minds. People al¬
ways hate death, but they are unable to preserve spirit. This is as if one desired
nobility, but would not apply the proper way; craved for wealth, but would not
pursue treasures. It is as if one wanted to make haste and never moved a foot,
wanted to be fat and never ate one’s fill. [5b]

Lord Lao said:

[CS —>] Dao is attained by the mind; the mind is made bright by Dao. Once the
mind is bright, Dao descends; Dao descended, the mind is all-pervasive. [Tian-
jin^t 3], The brightness of spirit in the body-self is like the light in a basin lamp.
Light arises from tire, fire arises from burning. Burning in turn arises because
of the oil, and the oil needs the wick and tire basin lamp proper. Once those
four [fire, burning, oil, and lamp] are gone, where would light come from?

That is to say, brightness karmically depends on spirit radiance; spirit relies on
the mind being fully present; the mind exists only within the body-form; and
body-form is only complete through Dao. Even one of these four being insuf¬
ficient, how could there be brightness? Thus we say that spirit brightness makes
the eyes see and die ears hear, the intention know and the mind be aware. All
distinctions made between tilings and cosmic order, all knowledge of even the
finest and subtlest ultimately comes from spirit being bright. Thus we speak of
spirit brightness.

186

Translation

Lord Lao said:

Empty your mind: let go of solidity!

Make your mind no-mind: get rid of existence!

Stabilize your mind: make it unmoving!

Calm your mind: let there be no peril!

Make your mind still: let there be no confusion!

Make your mind upright: let there be no waywardness!

Make your mind clear: let there be no turbidity!

Make your mind pure: let there be no defilements!

[cf. ZWL 4b] [6a]

Once you have achieved tire elimination of all these, the following will appear:

An upright mind: no more reversal!

A balanced mind: no more high or low!

A bright mind: no more gloom or darkness!

A pervasive mind: no more hindrance to go!

These four minds will begin to radiate naturally [YQ: are so originally and natu¬
rally], Words are too coarse to explain—imagine it for yourself! Students of
Dao should ardently practice this! [<—]

Lord Lao said:

Knowing Dao is easy—trusting Dao is hard.

Trusting Dao is easy—practicing Dao is hard.

Practicing Dao is easy—attaining Dao is hard.

Attaining Dao is easy—guarding Dao is hard [DDJ 70],

Guarding Dao and never losing it—live forever!

Lord Lao said:

Dao is not to be transmitted by word nor attained by hearsay. Just empty the
mind, still the spirit, and Dao will come to stay of itself. Ignorant people, not
realizing this, labor their body-self and exhaust their mind. They exert their will
and agitate their spirit. Yet thereby they push Dao further away and make spirit
grow sadder and sadder. They oppose Dao in pursuit of Dao [YQ: is resenting
Dao and not accepting its compassion]—be warned against this! [6b]

Lord Lao said:

Dao highly values long life, so preserve spirit and make the root firm [DDJ 16].
Never let essence and qi disperse, but keep them pure white and always to¬
gether. Body-form and spirit merged with Dao, you can fly to Mount Kunlun,

NeiguanJing

187

come to life before creation, continue living after creation, and forever pass in
and out of the spaceless.

Yet, if you do not pass through this gate, you will waste yin and disperse yang,
restrict the material souls and strangle the spirit souls. For millions of years you
will be a family man, producing offspring for thousands of generations. The
yellow grime of the world will surround you while the perfected astride his ox
enters the golden halls and jade chambers of heaven, always giving up the old
and welcoming the new. 16

Lord Lao said:

The way of inner observation lies in stilling the spirit and stabilizing the mind.
Confused imaginings do not arise, falseness wayward delusions do not en¬
croach. Make the body-self firm within your surroundings, close your eyes and
examine [yourself] mentally. Within and without become empty and serene;
spirit and Dao subtle and profound.

On the outside, contain the myriad aspects of projected reality; on the inside,
examine the one mind. 17 In the event, just shine forth in stillness—stillness and
confusion both at rest. As thought follows upon thought, deep inside your root
reaches ultimate peace. Deeply luminous and eternally steady, your obscurity
and mystical fusion cannot be fathomed. 18 All sorrows and vexations forever
extinguished, there is no more consciousness of right and wrong.

Lord Lao said:

[7a] I am not a born sage; I studied Dao to attain it. Thus, pursuing Dao I re¬
ceived it all: the thousand scriptures and the myriad methods, which are ulti¬
mately only in the mind.

16 The sage depicted riding an ox while leaving for the west is Laozi. It is also part of
the Laozi myth that he symbolizes a progress from the old toward the young—that is, a
reversal of the normal human development. See Guangshengyi 2.16a.

17 See Qjngjingjing 2a. The text adds a third category: observation of the distant. Within
and without here indicate that one observes oneself from the positions of mind and body.
Observation of others, then, is called “observation of the distant.”

18 Similarly, the Dingguan jing encourages adepts to be “like a water mirror” (10b).

Text Six

Heavenly Seclusion 1

The path to spirit immortality is rooted in long life. The key to long life is to
make nurturing qi a priority. Now, qi is received from Heaven and Earth, then
harmonized by tin and yang. Yin and yang spirit and emptiness—this is the
[nature of the] mind. The aspects of the mind that rule sleeping and waking
during night and day are the spirit and material souls. Set up like this, people’s
body-self is never far from the path to immortality. 2

1 do not know where the Master of Heavenly Seclusion came from. He wrote
this treatise in eight sections to encompass the secret and the wondrous. Tilings
found here cannot be attained through study alone.

Now, [the methods of] cultivating and refining die form-body to pure qi, nour¬
ishing and harmonizing the mind to emptiness, in their “return to the root”
[DDJ 16] go back to Boyang [i.e., Laozi], while their “bestowing inner radi¬
ance” is found with Zhuangzi. “Long life and eternal vision” [DDJ 59] also
begin with these works.

1 have practiced the techniques of Dao myself. Now 1 feel compassion for the
people of the world. They often die prematurely and do not live to perfect lon¬
gevity. Therefore 1 decided to transmit the teaching to fellow adepts of long life.

1 THs translates the Tianjiinsj (Master of Heavenly Seclusion, DZ 1026). The text has
been popular since its inception and appears, with minimal variants, in many collections,
including the Dao^angjiyao (dat. 1577; Weiji 7.27a-40b), Ershi jia ^shu (dat. 1578), Bafag
quanshu (dat. 1875), Yimenguangdu (dat. 1940), and Qigongyangsheng congshu (dat. 1990; #19).
The main variants used in the annotation come from the Daoshu (abbr. “DS”) and Congshu
jicheng (abbr. “CS”), ch. 573.

- This first paragraph seems to be a later addition. Song bibliographies have the text
start with the next section.

188

TlANYlNZI

189

I have simplified it so that it can be practiced and referred to easily. From Boy-
ang to the Master of Heavenly Seclusion, there has only been this teaching.

Respectfully submitted

1. Spirit Immortality

When a human being is born, he or she is naturally endowed with the qi of
emptiness [DS: numinosity]. Essence and intellect are pervasive and awake,
learning has no obstructions: this is what we call “spirit.” Settle the spirit within
and let its radiance shine without, so that you naturally become different from
ordinary people: this is what we call a spirit immortal. Therefore even a spirit
immortal is still a human being.

Just focus on cultivating the qi of emptiness and never get involved in worldly
discussions and analyses. Follow your self in spontaneity and never let wayward
views obstruct your path. Thus you reach success.

NOTE: Joy, anger, sadness, happiness, love, hate, and desires—these seven are
[natural] emotional tendencies turned wayward. Wind, damp, cold, heat, hunger,
satiation, labor, and idleness—these eight are qi turned wayward. Rid yourself
of these manifestations of waywardness and reach immortality! 3

2. Simplicity

The Yijing says: “The way of Heaven and Earth is simple” [Xici 1.1], What does
this mean?

The Master of Heavenly Seclusion says: “Heaven and Earth are above my head
and beneath my feet. When I open my eyes I can see them. I can speak of them
without complex devices. Thus I say: consummate simplicity is the inherent
potency of immortality.” [CS: Thus I speak of simplicity. Simplicity is an ex¬
pression for spirit immortality.]

NOTE: The Scripture says: “Utmost Dao is not complex, the perfect man does
not act” [cf. ZZ 58/22/18].

What path should one use to seek this?

He says: “Without seeking you cannot know; without a path you cannot attain.
All students of spirit immortality must first attain simplicity. Teachings that are

3 THs paragraph appears as a note in DZ 1026, but has been integrated into the main
text frequendy. The seven emotions are first described in the “Iiyun” chapter of the Uji. It
has “fear” instead of “happiness.”

190

Translation

intricate, artful, and attractive only lead people astray. They do not lead to “re¬
turn to the root.” They can never be my teaching.”

NOTE: Some people in the world study immortality but are only deluded by it.
Some study breathing but are only made sick by it. 4

3. Gradual Progress Toward the Gate of Dao

The Yijing has a hexagram called Jian, ’’Progressive Advance” [no. 56], Laozi
speaks of the “Gate of all Wonders” [DDJ 1], When working to cultivate per¬
fection and master inner nature, do not expect sudden awakening. Rather, pro¬
gress gradually and calmly practice. Thus you enter the gates of gradual pro¬
gress: [CS: As 1 enter them through insight, Dao becomes visible.]: 5

1. Fasting and abstention. 2. Seclusion.

3. Visualization and imagination. 4. Sitting in oblivion.

5. Spirit liberation.

What does fasting and abstention mean? It means cleansing the body-self and
emptying the mind. 6

What does seclusion mean? It means withdrawing deep into the oratory.

What does visualization and imagination mean? It means holding in the mind 7
and recovering inner nature.

What does sitting in oblivion mean? It means letting go of the form-body and
completely forgetting the “I” [ZZ 6],

What does spirit liberation mean? It means the myriad concrete manifestations
[dharmas] are pervaded by spirit. 8

Practice according to these five gates of gradual progress and complete step
one, then gradually move on to step two. Complete step two, then gradually
move on to step three. Complete step three, then gradually move on to step

4 The Daoshu includes this in the text and reverses the order of the two statements.

5 The Daoshu summarizes this paragraph in one sentence and includes the following
explanations in later sections (2.4b).

6 Cf. the statement on “keeping the mind empty” in Daode jing 3 and Zhuangzi’s “fast¬
ing of the mind” (ch. 4).

7 This contains a reference to section 3 of the Zuowang lun.

8 The Zhuangj has: “Knowledge is pervaded by spirit” (29/12/14), and “Make your¬
self one with Great Pervasion” (19/6/92). Buddhists speak of “spirit pervasion” as the state
of the deep and transcendent samadhi of the Buddha. He then emits a bright light and pos¬
sess supernatural powers. See Yuanjuejing (T. 17.913a) and Weimo jing (T. 14.539a).

TlANYlNZI

191

four. Complete step four, then gradually move on to step five. Thus you suc¬
ceed at spirit immortality!

4. Fasting and Abstention 9

Fasting and abstention not only mean to live on vegetables and mushrooms.
Cleansing the body is not just bathing to remove the dirt. Rather, the method is
to regulate food intake so that it is perfecdy balanced, to massage the body so
that it glows in health.

All people are endowed with the qi of the five phases. 10 They live on tilings that
consist of them. From the time they enter the womb people breathe in and out;
blood and essence circulate in their bodies. How could one stop eating and yet
pursue long life?

Ordinary people do not understand that abstaining from grains and absorbing
qi are only temporary measures of Daoists. These tilings do not mean that we
completely abstain from all food forever. We speak of fasting and abstention
from food, yes. But we refer to the purification of nourishment and the mod¬
eration of intake. 11 If one is hungry one eats—but never to satiation. 12 Thus we
establish a balanced diet.

Don’t eat anything not well cooked! Don’t eat dishes with the five flavors in
excess! Don’t eat anything fermented or conserved! These are our basic absten¬
tions.

Massage your skin with your hands so that it becomes moist and hot! This
drives out cold qi and makes die body radiate with a glow.

Refrain from long sitting, long standing, long exhaustive labor! All these are
basic abstentions. 13 They serve to balance and regulate the body. If the body is
strong, qi is whole.

Thus fasting and abstention are the first gate to Dao.

9 Zhaijie, lit. “purification and precepts.” In the middle ages, this indicated days of
retreat which involved fasting (see Kohn 2010, 99). Here it refers to dietary practices.

10 Zuowang lun 11 ab. See also Huangdi neijing suwen as cited in YQ 14.13b.

11 The Daoshu shortens this and defines fasting as “purification” and abstention as
“regulation.” For Daoist diets, see Levi 1983; Arthur 2006; Kohn 2010.

12 Cf. Cunshen lianqi ming lb.

13 See Kohn 2008b, 71. This follows the Daoshu (2.5a). The DZ edition leaves out
“no” (wu yJJ) before every item. The same abstentions appear in Sima’s Fuqi jingyi lun (YQ
57.19b; see Engelhardt 1987) with reference to the Huangdi neijing sumn (23.10b). Already the
Zhuang^ contains warnings against physical exertion (see Robinet 1983, 79).

192

Translation

5. Seclusion

What is meant by seclusion? 14 It has nothing to do with living in ornate halls, in
cavernous buildings, on double matting and thick carpeting. It means sitting
with one’s face to the south, sleeping with one’s head to the east, complying in
everything with tire harmonious rhythm of yin and yang. 15

Light and darkness should be in balance. The room should not be too high. If
it is too high, yang is predominant and there will be too much light. The room
should not be too low. If it is too low, yin is predominant and there will be too
much darkness.

The reason for this precaution is that, when there is too much light, the mate¬
rial souls will be harmed. When there is too much darkness, spirit souls will
suffer. People’s spirit souls are yang, their material souls are yin. Harm them
with light and darkness, and they will get sick.

When tilings are arranged in the proper balanced way, we have a chamber of
seclusion. Still, don’t forget how various the qi of Heaven and Earth can be.
There may, for example, be violent [CS: primordial] yang that attacks die flesh.
Or there may be a lascivious yin that overpowers the body. Be wary and guard
against these! During the progressive advance of cultivation and nourishment
there is no proper seclusion unless these instructions are carried out.

The Master of Heavenly Seclusion says: “The room I live in has windows on all
four sides. When wind arises I close diem; as soon as the wind has died down I
open them again. 16 In front of my meditation seat a curtain is suspended; be¬
hind it a screen has been placed. When it is too light I draw the curtain to ad¬
just the brightness inside. When it gets too dark I roll the curtain up again to let
light in from outside.

“On the inside I calm my mind, on the outside I calm my eyes. Mind and eyes
must be bodi completely at peace. If either light or darkness prevails, there are
too many thoughts, too many desires. How could I ever calm myself inside and
out?” Thus in studying Dao, seclusion marks the second step.

14 The term for “seclusion” (anchu 3c§|J) goes back as far as the Shijing. It also occurs

in the “Xinshu” (Arts of the Mind) chapter of the Guantg and in Buddhist literature.

The Yuanjuejing, for example, mentions it in the context of a progressive system as the step
to be taken after “meticulous observation of the precepts” (T. 17.914b).

15 The Daoshu here has: “The place where one lives must be completely in accord with
the harmonious rhythm of yin and yang” (2.5a).

16 Closing and opening doors to match yin and yang is already mentioned in Xici 1.11.

TlANYlNZI

193

6. Visualization and Imagination

Visualization means to visualize my spirit. Imagination means imaging my
body-self. 17 [DS: How to do this?] Closing die eyes and one can see one’s own
eyes. Collecting the mind one can see one’s own mind. Mind and eyes never
separate from my body-self and never harming my spirit: this is the gradual
practice of visualization and imagination.

Ordinary people, to the end of their days, direct their eyes only toward others.
Thus their minds wander outside and for their whole life is concerned only
with outer affairs. Thus the eyes also continue looking at tilings outside. 18
Brightly sparkling they float around everywhere and never reflect back on
themselves. How can people not become sick from this and end up dying pre¬
maturely?

Therefore “return to the root means stillness, and stillness means to recover
destiny” [DDJ 16]. To recover destiny and be true to inner nature is called “the
gate of all wonders” [DDJ 1], Thus, with the step of visualization and imagina¬
tion one is halfway to succeeding in one’s study of Dao.

7. Sitting in Oblivion

Sitting in oblivion is attained after learning visualization and imagination. It also
means the forgetting all about visualization and imagination.

Acting in Dao and not seeing oneself act—isn’t that the meaning of sitting?
Seeing something and not acting on it—isn’t that the meaning of oblivion?

Why do we speak of not acting? Because the mind remains free from agitation.
Why do we speak of not seeing? Because the body-form is completely obliter¬
ated. 19

[DS: Someone asks: “If the mind is not agitated, does it have Dao then?” {CS:
How do you attain the non-agitated state of mind?”} The Master of Heavenly
Seclusion remains silent and does not answer. Another asks: “If the body is
obliterated, does it have Dao then?” {CS: How do you attain die obliteration of
the body?}]

17 “Imagination” means the deliberate creation of images on the basis of actual experi¬
ence. It stands in opposition to “fantasy” which refers to images largely devoid of reality. A
similar usage of these terms is found in the psychology of Carl Jung.

18 For more on the interaction of mind and yes, see below in the translation of Wu
Yun’s treatise “On Mind and Eyes.”

19 Cf. Zuowang lun 4b.

194

Translation

The Master of Heavenly Seclusion closes his eyes and does not look.

At some point, he wakes to Dao and withdraws, saying: “Dao is really in me.
What person is this ‘me? What person actually is this Master of Heavenly Se¬
clusion?”

Thus, self and other both forgotten, nothing is left to radiate forth.

8>. Spirit Liberation

Step one, fasting and abstention, is called liberation through faith. 20 NOTE:
Without faith, the mind cannot be liberated.

Step two, seclusion, is called liberation through withdrawal. NOTE: Without
withdrawal, the mind cannot be liberated.

Step three, visualization and imagination, is called liberation through insight.
NOTE: Without insight, the mind cannot be liberated.

Step four, sitting in oblivion, is called liberation through stability. NOTE:
Without stability, the mind cannot be liberated. 21

When the four gates of faith, withdrawal, insight, and stability have been per¬
vaded by spirit, then we speak of spirit liberation. By “spirit” we mean that
which “arrives without moving and is swift without hurrying” [ZZ 26/11/17];
what transforms along with yin and yang and is “as old as Heaven and Earth”
[DDJ 7],

When the three forces of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity \Yijing, “Shuogua” 1]
are combined, changes occur. NOTE: The Xici says: “When the changes come
to an end, there is transformation. Where there is transformation, there is per¬
vasion. Where there is pervasion, there is continuity” [II.2],

When the myriad “tilings are equalized” [ZZ 2], then Dao and inherent po¬
tency are active. NOTE: This refers to Laozi’s Daojing and Dejing.

When the underlying inner nature of all is attained, there is perfect suchness. 22
NOTE: The Lotus Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, and the Nirvana Siitra of Sakya-
muni all deal with “die underlying inner nature.”

20 “Liberation through faith” (xinjie fHfl?) translates the Sanskrit adhimukti (Soothill
and Hudous 1937, 288).

21 The order of the various kinds of liberation is different in the Daosh/r. 1. faith; 2.
absorption; 3. stillness; 4. insight (2.6a).

22 This translates bhutatathata, the eternal unchanging reality behind all phenomena
(Soothill and Hudous 1937, 332).

TlANYlNZI

195

[CS: Enter into suchness and return to nonaction. NOTE: The Yuanjue jing says:
“Whether there is the threefold embodiment of the Buddha in action or in
nonaction or the metamorphosis body of the Buddha which cannot fall back
into mundane destiny, all is the one original nature” {T.17.921b}.]

The Master of Heavenly Seclusion says: “I am born with tire changes; I will die
with the changes. I move with the myriad tilings; I rest with the myriad tilings”
[ZZ 34/13/14; 40/15/10], Waywardness comes form the underlying inner
nature; perfection comes from the underlying inner nature. 23 For this reason,
life and death, movement and rest, waywardness and perfection: through spirit
1 am liberated from them all.

“Among human beings, 1 am called an immortal. In heaven, 1 am a celestial
immortal. On earth, 1 am an earth immortal. [CS: In water 1 am a water immor¬
tal.] Thus die path to spirit immortality consists of these five progressive gates,
leading to a single goal. NOTE: Meaning that through all five one ultimately
returns to immortality.

Postface: Oral Instructions 2 *

1 recited the text Tianjin ty and after diree years 1 had gained some vague under¬
standing. Subsequendy 1 used the five gates it outlines and very gradually ap¬
proached the practice. After another diree years, 1 awakened to the peace of
body-form and mind and realized the insipidity of fame and profit. After yet
anodier three years, the Master appeared to me and gave me the following oral
instructions.

The central part of my teaching, he said, is the section on visualization and
imagination. It deals with the return to the root, with recovering life and fulfill¬
ing one’s inner nature in all its subtleties. The fundamental root of the human
being grows from the elixir field. When one returns to this one can live long.
Thus 1 say: Return to die root and recover destiny [DDJ 16], The numinous
consciousness of humanity is grounded in rational nature. When inner nature is
pervaded by spirit, it is subtle and there will be no obstruction in dealing with
the myriad things. Thus 1 say: Perfect nature in all its subtleties.

23 Dao as the one original nature of the cosmos which underlies all existence is an
important concept in Tang Daoism. The expression used is daoxing a direct take on the
Buddhist foxing f$j[4, “buddha-nature.” See Kamata 1966.

24 As found in Tao Zongyi’s pfUzrcfll Shuofu IftJP (Theory Land, ch. 75), Hu Wen-

huan’s Ge^hi congshu fiJSjjlilr (Integrated Research Collection) of the late Ming

(1.5), and Bedsj quanshu U/Pifew (Complete Writings of the Hundred Masters) of 1875
(“Daojia”).

196

Translation

Breathing is activated by qi, so I provide instructions to expel the old and draw
in the new [breath]. Saliva arises from the kidneys, so 1 teach to rinse die
mouth and swallow the saliva. Thoughts and ideas stir in the mind and con¬
sciousness, so 1 instruct to practice visualization and imagination. The defen¬
sive qi, the blood, and the channels in the human body all turn toward the out¬
side when one is awake and focus inside during sleep. In both waking and
sleeping, inside and outside should nurture each other in harmony.

With harmony established, practice daily between midnight and noon [during
the time of living qi\. Lie down flat on your back and stretch your arms and legs.
Next, rise to undertake healing exercises, breathing strongly but steadily. The
tap the front teeth together quietly, then click the molars to produce a loud
sound. With both hands massage your face to the eyes, until the body feels
warm and glowing.

Next, sit upright with legs folded under. With your tongue stimulate the Flow¬
ery Pond, then rise when saliva arises in the mouth. Silently count the times of
rinsing and once in 300 swallow the saliva. Swallow only after you have inhaled
fully and do not exhale before you have completed the swallowing. Practicing
like this, the inhaled qi reaches the lower elixir field together with the saliva.
Also, practice only between midnight and noon when all food is well digested
and die mind is empty. Rinse and swallow without interruption—it does not
matter how many times altogether. Just stop when you feel it is enough. Five
says of this practice count as one cycle.

Next, light incense in your oratory. Visualize and imagine your body from head
to foot, then again up from the feet to the [upper] elixir field, moving along the
spinal column and into the Niwan [Palace in the head]. After this, turn again to
rinsing the mouth and swallowing the saliva.

Also, cover your ears with the palms of your hands until you hear a drumming
sound inside the head. After three sets of seven, stretch both legs, stand up,
and bend forward. Stretch the neck, gripping it tightly with both hands. Then
place your hands on your hips and raise your shoulders in alternation. Hold the
breath. Stop when the qi is full and your face is red. Repeat this seven times.
Pay close attention to make sure the qi enters all the way into the Niwan. This
concludes the general outline of the practice.

There are, however, more essential and subtler practices which more careully
align and synchronize the practice with the qi of Heaven and Earth. For this
you must be able to recognize when the qi comes and clearly feel when it stops.
This way you can be in harmony with Heaven and Earth, eventually attaining
the same age. This is spirit immortality.

The practice ideally begins at midnight on the day of the winter solstice. This is
when yang qi first arises. Regardless of whether it is early or late, make sure you

TL4NYINZI

197

can feel the arising of qi within yourself. One when you clearly feel that it has
arrived can you begin circulating it within, always remaining fully aligned with
the qi of Heaven and Earth. The next day again you wait for the qi to arrive,
then work along with it. This is the sublest and most essential method of spirit
immortality. Only few can practice it.

For 360 days circulate your qi in harmony with the perfect qi [of the cosmos].
Having done this three times over [for three years], you will feel clarity 7 and
harmony within. It will feel quite different from ordinary 7 life. How much more
so when you continue with the practice for even longer periods! Growing in
subtle alignment, the way of spirit immortality 7 is no longer hard to attain.

Recorded by Sima Chengzhen.

Text Seven

The Five Kitchens 1

Preface 2

[la] I have heard that the Yijing says: “Penetrating [ultimate] meaning and enter¬
ing into spirit promotes the utmost activation [of spirit]. Utilizing this activation
and bringing peace to the body-self [self] allow for the veneration of inherent
inherent potency.” 3

1 This translates the Wuchu jing as found in DZ 763. Alternative readings in YQ 61.5b-
10b are noted in brackets. The verses are in bold face with lines numbered from 1 to 20. The
commentary is in plain text.

2 Dated to the 12 th month of Kaiyuan HHtG 23 (735). See Mollier 2000, 64.

3 This passage is found in the “Dazhuan” (Great Commentary) to the Yijing,

(2.5.3). The full passage runs: “The contraction of the measuring worm is done in order to
try to stretch itself out, and the hibernation of dragons and snakes is done in order to pre¬
serve their lives. Perfect concepts come about by entrance into the numinous, which, once
had, allows one to extend their application [activation] to the utmost. The use of these appli¬
cations comes about by making one’s person secure, which allows for the subsequent ven¬
eration of his inherent power. To go beyond this is something that no one has ever known
how to do, for to plumb the numinous to the utmost and to understand transformation
represent the very acme of inherent power” (Wilhelm 1950, 338).

Wang Bi comments: “‘Perfect concepts’ means ‘the profound subdety of the princi¬
ples of things.’ The numinous, being utterly still, does not act, but when it responds to some¬
thing, that response is perfect and thoroughgoing. Thus one is able to take advantage of all
the subde secrets that underlie the world and gain unified and complete control over their
applications. The Dao governing how to make use of applications means that one first
makes one’s position secure and only after that takes action. Perfect concepts derive from
‘entrance into the numinous, which, once had, allows one to extend their application to the
utmost’ The use of these applications derives from ‘making one’s person secure, which al-

198

WUCHUJlNG

199

These words are truly valuable, truly wonderful! From them we know that first
ultimate meaning must be penetrated, then one can join with spirit to reach its
utmost activation. This activation in turn must be utilized, then one can bring
peace to the body-self and venerate potency. To reach utmost activation while
ultimate meaning is not penetrated, to bring peace to the body-self without
utilizing its activation, to know Dao without having peace in oneself: this has
never happened!

This being so, the pervasive activation [of qi\ is tire master of all life and trans¬
formations. Essence and qi forming living tilings we call concretized harmony.
Vast and spaceless, they all stand together, forming the great potency of
Heaven and Earth. Is this not what we call “life”?

The prime way to completing physical form in this life is to think less, reduce
desires, embrace simplicity, and pursue harmony. Let the mind wander in dis-
passion, harmonize qi in cosmic vastness, and you will be clear and bright in
your body, your will and qi like pure spirit. If ever there are any cravings or
desires trying to get in, you can spot any potential opening and get ahead of
them.

[lb] For this reason, the sages have handed down the teachings and arranged
them, have expounded karmic functioning and controlled it. Therefore, you
should stabilize your qi to utmost softness, thereby to find the path to cosmic
harmony; turn to obscurity and calm your breath, thereby to stop all desires;
cleanse your mind and live in seclusion, thereby to penetrate spirit and under¬
stand the hidden transformations. After all this, the body-self can be at peace
and the state can be secure; inherent potency can be activated and the people
be unknowing. Then you will naturally be able to fully benefit form all the good
fortune spread by the blessings of Heaven.

Bow your head and recite the five stanzas of this scripture, and you will easily
get the perfect essentials of cultivating the body-self and protecting life. To
complete harmony and encompass universal oneness: penetrate [ultimate]
meaning, so you can enter into spirit, sit in oblivion, and let go of brilliance;
bring peace to the body-self, so you can venerate potency, investigate sensory
experience, and nourish yourself forever.

lows for the subsequent veneration of his inherent power’ As principles must derive from
their progenitor; so each and every matter springs from the root. If one returns to the root
of things, he will find quiescence there and discover all the world’s principles available to
him. However, if he enslaves his capacity for thought and deliberation just so he can seek
ways to put things to use and if he disregards the need to make his person secure just so he
can sacrifice himself to achievement and fine reputation, then the more the spurious arises,
the more principles will be lost, and the finer his reputation grows, the more obvious his
entanglements will become” (Lynn 1994, 81-82).

200

Translation

Arranging the text to include admonitions and explanations, 1 have humbly
drafted an insignificant and worthless work. Receiving grace like a torrent of
rain and noticing steady support [from Dao?], I cannot avoid the heavenly light
shining on me and forget just how lowly and vulgar 1 am. Therefore, 1 bow to
submit this work, trembling in shame and fear, feeling vague and indistinct as if
totally lost. Always your servant, I, Yin, knock my head to the ground.

The Text

[la] As long as you dwell in the qi of universal oneness and in the harmony of
cosmic peace, the five organs are abundant and full and the five spirits are still
and upright. When the five organs are abundant, all sensory experiences are
satisfied; when the five spirits are still, all cravings and desires are eliminated.

This scripture expounds on how the five organs taking in qi is like someone
looking for food in a kitchen. Thus its title: “Scripture of the Five Kitchens.”

* * *

1 The qi of universal oneness merges with the harmony of cosmic peace.

“The qi of universal oneness” is the wondrous origin. In a state of pervasive
function, it is called primordial qi. When this functions pervasively, it creates
yang harmony in Heaven, yin harmony on Earth, and the harmony of cosmic
peace in the exchange of these two. Thus when human beings receive life, they
are always endowed with the harmony of qi of universal oneness. Therefore,
the text speaks of the “harmony of cosmic peace.” Only afterwards do physical
form and concrete materials come together [lb] and the five constancies
[senses] become active. Thus Laozi says: “The ten thousand tilings carry yin
and embrace yang, pervading qi they come to a state of harmony” [42],

As a result, to maintain [a connection to] the origin: on the outside, eliminate
the two forms of perception, thereby making life’s allotment whole; on the
inside, dwell in qi of universal oneness, thereby merging with the harmony of
cosmic peace. Once merged with universal oneness, inner nature and destiny
are complete. Therefore Laozi says: “Can you stabilize your qi and find com¬
plete softness, like an infant?” [10],

2 Attaining universal oneness, Dao rests in cosmic peace.

“Attaining universal oneness” means: on the inside, dwell in the qi of universal
oneness to nourish essence and spirit; on the outside, make physical form and
life whole to abide in cosmic peace. Then qi of universal oneness can be in per¬
vasive activation and the body-self is filled with the harmony of cosmic peace.
This is cosmic harmony. Thus it says “attaining universal oneness.” Doing so,

WUCHUJlNG

201

the various ways of cultivating the body and nurturing spirit all join in the har¬
mony of cosmic peace. As Laozi says: “The myriad things rely on it to be born”
[32]

3 Cosmic harmony really is neither universal oneness nor harmony.

[2a] This says, when people are first endowed with the qi of universal oneness,
they are [innately] merged with the harmony of cosmic peace. By [later] dwell¬
ing in harmony and attaining universal oneness, they can merge with cosmic
order and find overarching peace. As utmost harmony flourishes freely, not
only is there no more [sense of] oneness, but there is also no [conscious aware¬
ness of] harmony any longer. It cannot be critically examined, but is like soil
thrown on earth [complete natural]. As Laozi says: “1 do not know its name”

[25].

4 Mysterious cosmic order joins the mysterious moment of eternity.

“Mysterious” is wondrous; “cosmic order” is inner nature. This says: the qi of
universal oneness forever dwells in the mysterious moment of eternity and, as it
merges with cosmic order, brings forth inner nature. As inner nature is culti¬
vated, one recovers inherent potency and wondrously begins to pervade cosmic
harmony. Once wondrous inner nature is completely merged with cosmic har¬
mony, one becomes mysteriously co-eternal with the mystery [source of all].
Laozi says: “Both may be called mysterious” [1],

* * *

5 Do not intentionally develop thinking and intention,

“Intention” here indicates delusory perception. This says, when trying to dwell
in the qi of universal oneness and merge with the harmony of cosmic peace,
[2b] be careful not to dwell in imaginary perception since it will condition you
karmically toward projected reality and [discriminating] consciousness. Rather,
concentrate spirit to a state of deep luminosity [like standing water] and wide
radiance, making it vague and vacuous, and let it merge with the state before
thoughts arise. Wisdom unfolds only after all knowledge is forgotten. Once one
has seen this barrier, there is no more [perception of] good and bad fortune.

On the other hand, if you “intentionally develop thinking and intention,” that
intention will invite delusory perception of being in the world of dust and
grime and cause cosmic harmony to vanish. How, then, will you attain [eternal]
life and [pervasive] understanding? As Laozi says: “Cut off contacts, shut the
doors, and to the end of life there will be peace without toil” [52, 56; ZWL 2a],

202

Translation

6 But do not pursue non-thinking either.

If you just stay away from being conditioned by delusory perception, radiant
wisdom wall unfold on its own. When that happens, you won’t actually [con¬
sciously] know it. On the contrary, if you knowingly pursue non-thinking, you
are already mired in delusory perception and are thus in a state no different
from blinking, intending, and the like. Thus Laozi says: “Nameless and simple,
and free from desires” [42],

7 Have intention but without any thinking or [conception of] existence:

[3a] On the inside, dwell in qi of universal oneness, just let it all be empty.
When all is empty, cosmic harmony comes of itself and cosmic order naturally
pervades all. Even if not conditioned by delusory perception, if you try to ac¬
tively pull in cosmic harmony, you will be sucked into [conscious] intention
toward, and the classification of, one-sided views [apparent reality]. Although
this does not mean you then dwell in projections and consciousness, you yet
need to be free from any blinking or [conception of] existence. As Laozi says:
“LTse its light to recover its brightness” [52],

8 Then any concrete manifestations are [immediately] controlled.

It is like this: On the inside dwell in the harmony of cosmic peace, and the con¬
crete manifestations [dharmas] of the harmony of cosmic peace merge in com¬
plete pervasion. Then all these concrete manifestations will vanish. Vanished
manifestations means that there is no more [perceiving] agent in the mind, so
what would there be to control? Then not controlling becomes die very action
of controlling. Thus it says: “Then any concrete manifestations are [immedi¬
ately] controlled.”

* * *

9 Never entangle mind with mind,

The mind is the raw material of unfolding wisdom and also die vessel of delu¬
sory perception. If it perceives correctly, it brings forth wisdom; [3b] if it per¬
ceives erroneously, it brings forth delusion. This says: If people can find ener¬
getic harmony within and their mind perceives correctly, their entire inner be¬
ing will radiate with clarity and purity. 4 Then right wisdom 5 is deeply luminous.
It mirrors [universal] light, and the [world’s] dust and grime have no place to
stick. 6 Like a deep abyss and unadulterated, it regards die myriad phenomena

4 This might imply a reference to the Qjngjingjing.

5 Buddhist saniyak. See Soothill and Hudous 1937, 192.

6 This recalls the famous poem of Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, on the mirror of the
mind and the contention of the Northern School of Chan that one should polish it so that
no dust and dirt can stick to it. SeeYampolsky 1967; McRae. 1983 The symbolic role of the
mirror in medieval China is discussed in Lai 1979; Ching 1983; Demieville 1987.

WUCHUJlNG

203

equally. Seeing all phenomena [equally] without a [perceiving] agent: this is the
constant mind.

If, on the other hand, you try to attain this mind by working through the mind,
you will only condition the mind to perceive defilements. On the outside, it
dwells on all sorts of concrete manifestations; on the inside, it has no radiant
wisdom. In this state the constant mind is already lost. Then any chance of
merging with is ruined. Thus the Zhuanggi says: “Attaining this mind, with this
mind attain the constant mind. How, then, can it perceive any outside tilings?”
[ch. 4],

10 But recover a state of no perceiving agent and the elimination of con¬
ditioning.

Now, if you use the mind to condition the mind, you will perceive all sorts of
concrete perceptions. If you perceive correctly, the mind will bring forth wis¬
dom and you will naturally attain the constant mind. When both wisdom and
mind are constant, then you reach the correct state of no-perception [no-mind].
How, then, could you still be conditioned? Once free from conditioned mind,
there is no more conditioning to be eliminated either. Deeply translucent and
utterly serene, where would there by a perceiving agent? Thus Laozi says: “Di¬
minish and again diminish” [48], [4a]

11 The mind dwelling in non-dwelling mind:

If wisdom radiates with deep luminosity and in constancy, we speak of mind
dwelling in the elimination [of all]. When there is no agent present, we speak of
“non-dwelling.” Once the mind is radiant, it will not be tempted to pursue or
receive any mental conditioning. Then there is nothing to eliminate, nor is there
a perceiving agent.

12 In perfection, maintain perfect abyss-like quality.

“Perfection” is another word for the constant mind radiating in wisdom, full
of clarity and purity and without any dilution. Deeply translucent and sharing in
the source of wisdom, utterly serene without a trace of defilement, completely
unknowing with regard to outward manifestations, and without a bit of karmic
conditioning—now the harmony of cosmic peace encompasses perfection and
one is never separate from the origin. Thus the text uses the word “maintain.”

* * *

204

Translation

13 Cultivating cosmic order, the will becomes a detached will,

[4b] ‘ ‘Cosmic order” is inner [Dao] nature. “Will” is a state of mind without
flow [content]. Once you eliminate all projected reality, you can perceive this
mind. Then inner nature can be perceived as well, in other words, in cultivating
inner nature, if there is a [state of] mind that still has content, just retreat to a
position of all-round radiance. Once the world of dust and grime is fully elimi¬
nated on the outside, when projected reality and consciousness no longer have
an active agent, you can “cast off form, do away with knowledge, and become
one with Great Pervasion” \Zhuang%i 6], With inner nature cultivated, you can
recover the cosmic beginning and radiate all-round without obstruction. Utterly
pure both on the inside and the outside, you can be “mysterious and again mys¬
terious” [DDJ 1], Thus you detach yourself from all [mental] content and [per¬
ceptive] delusion.

14 While accumulating cultivation will not get you to detachment.

First, by cultivating inner nature and developing a detached will, inside and
outside are both serene and no perceiving agent arises any longer in the mind.
Nor is there [any perception of] a vacuous mind. Sitting in oblivion and acting
in oblivion at all times, tilings just arise and pass away one after the other.

On the other hand, if you accumulate cultivation practices, you will never be
able to reach full oblivion and obliteration. Giving rise to even one thought of
cultivation becomes the hair that pulls a thousand pounds: your internal radi¬
ance is shaken, die outside world of dust and grime arises, and you will be un¬
able to properly merge with the detached will. [5a]

15. The will may be present but not as a cultivated will.

If the mind is completely free form any content, where would gradual awaken¬
ing come from? \Tianyin%i 2], A mind in a state of complete stability must be
caused by some sort of content, thus the text speaks of “will.” Without cultivat¬
ing the will, just illuminate the detached will, and there will not be [the error of]
accumulating cultivation. Just forget about cultivation, and inner [Dao] nature
will be stable. This leads to serenity and all-round radiance.

16 There is just personal karmic functioning and no more self-based
knowing.

Caused by mental content, wisdom and karma are clear are pure, thus the text
speaks of “personal karmic functioning.” On the inside, forget all about the self;
on the outside, forget all about tilings [Cf. Qingjingjin g]. In a state of radiant
wisdom, without even a smidgeon of fluster and activity, there is just karmic
functioning, and all knowledge is naturally forgotten. Thus die text says: “No
more self-based knowing.”

WUCHUJlNG

205

* * *

17 All food qi combines into qi

Now, qi of universal oneness coagulates and combines in the harmony of cos¬
mic peace. With cosmic harmony and universal oneness both in place, radiant
wisdom is constant and deeply translucent. Then you can let the mouth take in
various flavors to satisfy the five organs; your body-self can assimilate different
kinds of “foamy and frothy” [foods], [5b] thereby 7 to support physical form
and life.

We receive solidity from Earth, coagulate moisture from water, are endowed
with warmth by fire, and rely 7 on wind for our breath. These four conditioning
factors combine and dissolve constandy, none having any 7 part in the wondrous
underlying solidity 7 [of the universe]. Therefore they muddle and obscure qi of
universal oneness, confuse and disturb the harmony of cosmic peace, and cause
the arising of delusory perception. They stir up nothing but corruption and
pollution.

18 But it won’t stay combined and stable for long.

This says, people should have the harmony of cosmic peace to encompass uni¬
versal oneness, remain completely free from all delusory 7 perception, and main¬
tain perfection in constant deep luminosity. Then they can join their physical
structure with cosmic peace and harmony. They may also use all sorts of food
for their combined qi, however, doing so, “they won’t stay combined and stable
for long.”

19 All forms of [combined] qi return to original qi.

The four conditioning factors lead to [delusory] perception and [discriminating]
consciousness; the six taints [of perception] bring forth corruption. 7 All made
of earth, water, tire, and wind will eventually 7 disperse and return to the origin.
[6 a] Once the root consciousness is defiled, how can one perceive karmic
functioning?

20 If you pursue gathering it, you also must pursue its dispersal.

“Gathering” means perceive and take in; “dispersal” means unfold and activate.
Now, delusion and [seeing tilings as] existing are two forms of mental content,
which lead to two kinds of karmic causation. Pursuing anything that is per¬
ceived and thus taken [into the mind] will inevitably 7 lead to unfolding and acti¬
vation. If cosmic peace and harmony 7 merge with universal oneness, then qi of

7 The six taints of perception, liuran / slfe are Buddhist states of wrong ways to relate
to apparent reality—1. being attached to it; 2. failing to eliminate it; 3. developing discrimi¬
nating consciousness on its basis; 4. having sensory acceptance of it; 5. mentally seeing; and
6. living in a primal karmic relation to it. See Soothill and Hudous 1937, 135.

206

Translation

universal oneness is completely in harmony. Thereby reaching the point of ut¬
most emptiness is called “recovering destiny” [DDJ 16]. Finding constancy by
recovering life is called “correct perception.” In a state of correct perception
and purified karmic functioning, you can bring forth radiant wisdom. When
radiant wisdom is deeply translucent and perfectly constant, you rest in oneness,
free from all [perception of] existence. Then you can enter the spaceless.

On the other hand, if in universal oneness you eat [foods for] cosmic qi, hoping
to return to the origin, and rely on the four conditioning factors to complete
your karmic functioning, you will forever tumble around the six rebirths.

Text Eight

Mind and Eyes 1

Introduction: The Problem

[la] What makes people live is the spirit; what they are entrusted to is the body.
The central square spot is called the numinous prefecture. When this is at peace,
the spirit is vibrant and the body is harmonious; when it is agitated, the spirit is
labored and the body declines. Only when the deep root is very calm, can one
truly cultivate inner nature [to be free from] emotions.

However, what agitates the spirit is the mind; what disturbs the mind are the
eyes. Through them one loses perfection and is separated from die foundation
[of life]. There is nothing worse than this. Therefore 1 will now borrow the
roles of the mind and the eyes and have them engage in disputation with each
other—in order to remove obstructions and help the spirit toward purification.

[lb] Let us therefore say, the mind strives for nonaction and the eyes disturb it.

The Mind: 0b5tructions

The mind reprimands the eyes, saying:

1 wish to forget all emotions in withdrawal and retirement, lead inner nature to
the invisible and inaudible. 1 want to hide in the sphere of great harmony, wan-

'Hi is translates Wu Yun’s Xinmu lun from DZ 1038. The text DZ 1051, 2.1 (lb 19b is
almost identical. Variants are notes in brackets marked “DZ.” Subheadings are my own. I would
like to thank Xu Yiming and Alan Chan for their perceptive comments on the translation, which
was originally published, with more extensive explanations, in Monumenta Serica (see Kohn 1998b).

207

208

Translation

der along the path of the four attainments. I wish to leave the realm of life and
death behind and enter the ultimate of spirit radiance. 1 want to ride on pure
chaos and travel far-off, at one with the vast expanse and free from all bounds.

However, whenever 1 stop to rest, why do you still look at tilings? Whenever 1
am pure, why do you still make plans? Why do you glance at the myriad images
and confuse my proper way? Why do you delight in beautiful sights and mud¬
dle my true essence? Why, when 1 am far off in nonseeing, radiant in free-
floating vision, do you disturb me with terraces in spring and make melancholy
with domains in autumn?

You focus on the soil of Yan and make the emotions get excited; you look afar
at the gates of Wu and make the hair change [color with sadness]. You glance
up at the country of Chu and make me ache with longing; you look down upon
the suburbs of Qi and make me cry with yearning. Oh, how 1 am agitated by so
many thoughts—and all because of the confusion caused by your tiny pupils.

The body dotes on beautiful ornaments; the mouth desires rich tastes; the ears
are fond of harmonious sounds; [2a] and the nose delights in fragrant smells.
But you agitate me most of all! All your various activities bring me nothing but
distress! It is all your fault! If I wasn’t at odds with you — who else would be
my enemy?

The Eyes: Responsibility

The eyes retort with anger:

Have you not heard? When one man controls the realm, so that the multitude
have standards to rely on, order must be established from above. Disorder is
never the fault of those below. Thus under Yao even commoners could be
given a fief, while under Jie anyone ran a chance to be put to death. In however
many different places and of however many different kinds, people always fol¬
low die imperial rule.

Similarly the master who controls the body is you, the mind. You are the numi¬
nous prefecture. Someone goes against you and you get rid of him. Someone
complies with your orders and you promote him. All praise and happiness issue
from you alone; all regret and sorrow assemble only through you.

Therefore a ruler of men controls order before it is tiirown into chaos; a pre¬
server of the Dao overcomes all dioughts before diey are confused. Odierwise,
once all in the four seas has divided and collapsed, how can you chastise the
rebels? How, when the five emotions have scattered and gone out of control,
can you observe them with proper detachment?

XinmuLun

209

Why don’t you just stop your machinations and perfect your subtlety? Instead,
you discriminate between beings and self, illuminate right and wrong. You re¬
joice in glory and grieve for shame, [2b] delight in surplus and regret insuffi¬
ciency.

Like the wind raises the clouds and carries them far off, like the stars rush away
with the lightning, you are drumming and dancing about in a muddle. This in¬
cites all kinds of desires, which confuse perfection and obscure the spirit. They
in turn distort the spontaneous mind [within] and rebel against the lords [im¬
partiality ]of Heaven [without]. How can you not be overpowered by tire won¬
ders of creation and lose yourself in the swamp of existing tilings?

We, the eyes, are only your humble servants, following what you command.
Having entangled us in deep defilement, now you turn around and put the
blame on us! Alas, alas! What fault is it of ours?

The Mind: Vision

The mind thereupon weeps [DZ: chirps]. After a long time, it responds:

Should we, then, consider who among us, you or I, is clearer in his directions?
How the hidden and the visible are so separate, yet so mysteriously one?

The manifold tilings are causing us affliction, so let us now decide what to do.
Eventually we may transcend the boundaries of grime and trouble and step into
the realm of pure serenity.

Eating boundless qi.

Breathing the morning light,

Nibbling on blossoms of pure jade,

Rinsing with jasper springs—

We join the numinous transformations,

In feathery wings go beyond the clouds and mist,

And soar ever farther.

Above, we rise to the Three Clarities,

Below, we abolish the Eight Wilds—

Trust Pine and Jump as our friends, [3a]

J oin Heaven and Earth in linked eternity!

What ruin or praise can reach us?

What gain or loss [abandon] not yet forgotten?

Such is my vision. Consider it and give me your comments.

210

Translation

The Eyes: Right Action

The eyes counter once more:

This is getting closer, but it is not quite there yet. You see, if you acted like this,
you would desire stillness yet following tilings in haste; you would push out
defilements yet stir up more dregs from the depth. Utterly in darkness about
the means of returning to die root, you would just go far-off and set yourself
up alone.

As for truly embodying die invisible and inaudible, you enwrap it and never
find its core, expand with it and never find its end. Vast and open, it is widiout
limit; dark and obscure, it is without equal. Merely giving up one diing while
accepting another, you attain the small and let go of the great. Forgetfully rest¬
ing in darkness to obliterate your shadow, you still do not escape from benefit
and harm. Give forth nothing but emptiness and openness, and Dao and in¬
herent potency will provide support. Eliminate all human plans before they
even take shape, and the cosmic order of Heaven will come of itself.

Thus, Mysterious Prime blunted his sharpness and observed all that’s won¬
drous; Wide Learning abolished all mentation and used only bodily form. The
Yellow Emperor obtained it with the help of No-Shape; the Master of Vast
Perfection joined it through Deepest Darkness. [3b] Yan Hui sat in oblivion
and merged with Great Pervasion; Master Zhuang matched Heaven and could
discover the Essence.

Listing the host of sages and examining their potency, [we find that] none of
them ever planned [to reach that state] with wisdom. Rather, [they reached it]
like water that stops waving and becomes clear all the way, like dust that does
not settle and leaves the mirror bright. They never avoided the world in high
loftiness but found deep peace in their square-inch [hearts]. Thus they could be
relaxed [DZ: apprehensive] and remain forever, go along in pervasion and tran¬
scend all.

Without actively shining forth, they were radiant; widiout trying to be secret,
they were well hidden. Mystically merging from beginning to end, who could
tell they were separate from the myriad beings? They became one with all and
never gained [anything over others]; because of this, they never lost [anything
ei dier].

If you sincerely follow in the steps of these sages on their level path, you will
forever be protected by primordial good fortune. But if you abandon the center
and serve die extraneous, you will make little progress and never get anywhere.

Why is this so?

XinmuLun

211

Rivers rise, and dragons come to coil in them; woods grow, and wild beasts
come to roam in them. Similarly the spirit rests in an empty hollow, the Dao
assembles in mysterious emptiness. If you do not open yourself to their being,
how can you ever match their nonbeing?

Unless the body is forgotten in stillness and serenity, unless the spots and dregs
on the mirror are cleansed, unless die door to the mystery is spontaneously
bright, and unless the dark depth [of the Dao] firmly contained—how can you
ever go beyond all to utter nonattachment?

[4a] Without all this—how can you stride on the Eight Luminants, ascend to
the Ninefold Empyrean? How can you gaze at the superb splendor of the
Golden Towers, step on the solitary emptiness of the Purple Palace? How can
you merge with the boundlessness of a grand kalpa and make ten thousand
springtimes into a single morning?

The Mind: Realization

The mind thereupon adopts a relaxed attitude to die multitude of thoughts and
becomes placid when faced with insecurity and hesitations. Purified of thoughts,
it gradually becomes clear; controlling insecurity, it stops pursuing tilings.

In the end, the mind expresses his gratitude to the eyes and says:

You favored me with the good Dao,

And graced me with your perfect words.

You woke me up from a great dream,

And opened me to twofold mystery.

You elevated me to the stages of perfection,
and brought me to die gate of all that’s wondrous.

You made me roam in vast, deserted wilderness, 2
And let me wander freely around the boundless source.

Neither a member of the crowd nor yet utterly alone,

I am no longer tranquil or excited.

I join utmost happiness in permanent accordance,

Embrace the essence of perfection and find eternal life.

Giving up things, there is nothing to give up,

Deepening tilings, I go deeper yet again.

I reach to the ancestor of all creation,

2 Following DZ 1051 and readingjw (“in”) instead of 'yi (particle).

212

Translation

Come to the heart of Heaven’s and Earth’s symbols.

You made me empty of desires.

See beyond the bounds of the five colors;

Blocking all protection,

1 look into the forest of primordial dark and yellow. [4b]

1 gaze at existence, but it is like looking at empty serenity;
1 hear music, but it is like listening to the valley’s sounds.
1 make spontaneous nature my companion,

Join freedom from desires as my closest friend.

1 no longer run around for emperors and lords,

Never again defend the rights of Later Heaven.

1 block desires before they ever rise,

Cut off entanglements before they cause confusion.

1 forget the vastness even of Heaven and of Earth,

Never mind the minuteness of the hair in autumn.
Resting in serenity and silence,

1 listen to Pure Harmony.

Engulfed in obscurity and darkness,

1 see the Light of Dawn.

Going along with all beings,

1 too follow the cycle.

Containing inner radiance,

1 close up all the gates.

Whirling storms, heaving oceans,

Rolling thunder, 3 tumbling mountains,

Sky-high floods, burning marshes—

Still, 1 am free, away from all!

Movement stilled, language silenced—

Why ever think?

5 The word “thunder” {ting 6“) is left out in the edition in DZ 1051.

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Index

absorption ( dhydna ), 11, 49, 97,112
alchemy, internal, 6, 9,10-12,14, 40,

46, 67, 69,102
An Lushan, 57
Baiyuan, 91,180
Bai%i quanshu, 195
Baop/i^i, 90,140, 157
Benji jing, 40-41, 45,145,156,184
Benqijing, 78

Benson, Herbert, 123-24
Bian He, 140

body: of Buddha, 39; exercises ( daoyin ),
19, 39, 50, 55, 78-80,112,124,126,
196; fasting, 27-28, 31, 67-68, 78,
190-91, 194; form (. ring ;), 17-18, 27,
46, 66, 85-86, 91, 93-95,102,142,
147-48,153-58,159-61,171,177-
78,179-83,185,193,195; gods in,
11,69, 90-91,104,127,142,180;
health, 5, 30-31, 48, 56,102,121-
22,125,174,191; kinesiology,
125-26; relaxation, 78,123-24; self
(sheri), 11,18, 21, 29, 40-46, 66, 71,
87, 91, 93-95,101-02,137-42,148-
52,157-60,170-72,174-75,177,
180-87,190,193,198-200, 205;
senses, 2, 6,17,19, 27-29, 30-31,
70, 82, 91,100-02,109,115,122,
128,139,153,158,164,177,182,
184, 200, 207-12

breath: awareness, 2, 24, 48, 60; prac¬
tice, 30-31, 78, 80-81,106,109,
112-14, 119,122-24, 126,133, 190,
196,199, 209; physiology of, 121 -
22,125,143,168,191,205
British Taoist Association, 13-14
Brown, Daniel, 129
Buddha, 39,109,110,116,156,158,
190,195

Buddha-nature, 40, 49, 97,109,113-14,
119,195

Buddhism: 105-19; concepts of, 8,18,
25, 69, 75,101,130,149,152,156;
and Daoist texts, 9, 48, 70; influ¬
ence of, 13-15, 47; meditation in,
4-6,14,48,59,88-89,92,151;
terms of, 11, 64, 80, 87, 97-99,153,
156,190,192,195, 202, 205; Tian-
tai, 40, 42, 48, 53, 59, 90, 92,101,
110; and Twofold Mystery, 33-46
Buxuci, 58

Celestial Masters, 10, 29, 49, 70,107,
156; northern, 33-34
cessation, 4, 8, 40, 80, 89,100,105-06,
109-11

Chan, 6, 59, 99,106,112-16,117-19

Chang'an %hi , 51

Chao Gongwu, 63

Chao Jiong, 63

chaos, 19-22, 83, 208

Chen Jingyuan, 28

Chen Zhensun, 63

Cheng Xuanying, 8, 35-28, 76, 96

Chuanshoujingjiefaluyueshuo, 69, 179-84

Chuti, 170

Chunqiu, 51

Chu^hen neidanjiyao, 163
clarity and stillness, 8, 27, 30-31, 45,
80-81,91,131,176,185
Complete Perfection, 13,164
concentration: 3, 4-5, 8, 9,12, 32, 48,
59-60, 73, 80,109,120; intense,
see stability, methods of, 65, 68,
80-82, 87, 96,113,122-24,129,

135; see also cessation
Confucius, 6-7, 18, 25,158
consciousness, absolute, 37, 95,154,
187; and body gods, 180; in Bud-

237

238

Index

dhism, 69; cosmic, 4, 22, 97, 99,
130; development of, 21; flow of,
25,196; ordinary, 4, 37, 41, 65, 91,
108-09,142,152,183, 201-02,
204-05; overcoming of, 16, 31,

142,158,160; and spirit, 183;
states of, 100,120, 131,184;
storehouse, 114; transformation of,
161; witness, 6, 89, 92,127
Cunshen lianqi ruing, 9, 50, 60, 65-66, 67-
69, 73, 81,102,113,172, 174 - 78 ,
191

cunxiang, see visualization
Da Tang Yin gimshi bei, 51
Da sjoidu lun, 151

Dadao lun , 43, 44-45, 67, 70 147,181
Danjingjaojue, 50
Dao-nature, 40,195

Daodejing. 7-8, 13, 14; commentaries to,
10, 29, 89,166; meditation in, 17-
18, 28-31, 76; in Tang, 51, 66; and
Twofold Mystery 33-37, 40, 44; in
■ytoivang texts, 77, 94, 100,137,141,
143,145-49,152,157,166,190,
Daode ghenjingguangshengyi, 33, 43, 66,
76,163,171,187
Daojiao lingyan ji, 70
Daojiaojjishu, 39
Daoling shesh eng lun, 79
Daomen kelue, 77

Daoshu, 8-9,11-12, 62, 65, 68,159-60,
163-64,166,168-70,174,188-97
Daoti lun, 43-44
Dao^angjiyao, 61
Daren xiansheng ghuan, 25
death, acceptance of, 3, 22,124; con¬
trol over, 26, 49-50, 56, 75; defini¬
tion of, 183; and life, 22, 31, 44, 93,
125,139,142-43,150,172,181,
185,195; and souls, 186; transcen¬
dence of, 15, 22, 24,31,82,101,
132,150,152-53,156-57,171, 184,
207-08

destiny: and allotment, 83-84,140,147-
48,150,154,183; concept of, 24,

40, 83-86,140,148,150-51,179,
183; living with, 148,182, 200; re¬
covery of, 29,137,143,171,193,
195, 206; Ruler of, 91,180
Diamond, John, 125-27, 130
Ding Shaoji, 63

Dingguan jing, 8,15, 51, 59, 62, 63, 64-
67, 73, 76, 82,102,114,149, 163 -
73,174,176,177,184,187
Dingghijing, 150
Dong Gao, 61

Du Guangting, 33, 43, 66, 70, 76,103,
152,171,172

elixir field, 12, 31, 36, 50, 67, 71, 90-91,
104,106,125-26,174-75,180, 195,
196

emptiness: cosmic ( kong ), 12 39-40, 41-
43, 44, 56, 81, 111, 117-18; inner
(xu), 8,17, 25, 29, 31,37-38, 45,

69, 72, 98,143,159,188-89, 206,
210-11; and nonbeing, 19, 34, 38,
66,91,142,146,157,182
energetics, 5-6, 119
Engler, Jack, 129
Erdi ghang, 37

ethics: benevolence and righteousness,
7, 18-19; precepts, 2-3, 71, 76-78,
105,107-08,166,191-92; see also
body: fasting
Feng Qizheng, 56
Fuqijingyi lun, 55, 70, 79,112,191
Fushou lun, 50
Ge Chaofu, 107
Ge Hong, 90
Ge Xuan, 10
Gegpi congshu, 195
gods, 36, 78, 88, 90,102
Graham, A. C., 96
Gu Louguan gjyunyanqingjing, 51
Gu Xieguang, 64
guan, see observation
Guanding, 111

Guanmiaojing, 9, 65,163-64,168,172

Guanyin, 110, 117

Guan^i, 8,17, 26, 30-31,192

Index

239

Guijiajing, 140

Guo Xiang, 8,16-19, 21-22, 24, 36, 42,
76, 83-86, 96,141,154,179,181,
184

Hanfei^i, 140

happiness: and sorrow, 45, 74, 189, 208;
ultimate, 7,16, 24-25, 30, 50, 84,

93, 97,139,145,150,171,211
Hawkins, David R., 130-33
Heavenly Worthy, 40, 94, 118,163,170,
173

hells, 108,155
Heshno xin beimu , 64
Highest Clarity, 8,10,13, 33, 36, 47,
53-55, 57, 65, 79, 90,107,156,158
Hong Xingzu, 62
Hu Lian, 68
Hu, Wenhuan, 195
Huainangi, 85,143,148,149,152,180
Huang Lingwei, 103
Huang xianshi Qutongji, 103
Huangdi neijing, 181,183,191
Huangtingjing, 10, 85, 90,138,142,155,
180

Huayan jing, 116
Huayin, 56
Huineng, 202
Huizi, 146
Humingjing, 118
Hundun, 19-22
Hunyuan shubingpian, 180
immediacy, 2, 5-6, 23,117,119
inherent potency: and Dao, 44, 85,
139-40,148,155,158,194; defini¬
tion of, 7; manifestation of, 91,

142,189,199, 201, 210; mysteri¬
ous, 39-40, 94; in sage, 19,147,
177-78; veneration of, 198-99
inner nature: 83-86; and body, 66, 94,
160,183, 207; cultivation of, 164,
167-68, 204, 207; and destiny, 138,
148,150,174,182,193, 200; in in¬
ternal alchemy, 40; and mind, 43,
137,166,173; perfection of, 156,
171-72,175,190,194-95, 200-01;

and wisdom, 45-46,140,151,155,
159,169

insight: meditation 4-6, 9, 14, 40, 48, 59,
61, 73, 88-89, 92-93, 98,105-06,
109-11,120,127-28; psychology
of, 129-30; wisdom (hut), 38, 40,

46, 63, 65, 99-100,142-43,144-45,
151,153-55,157,159, 162, 163-70,
174,183,194
jade inscription, 30-31
Jian Jingzhen, 61
Jiang Weiqiao, 12
Jiang Yupu, 61
Jiao Jingzhen, 61,139
Jiao Shaoxuan, 65
Jieye benxing shangpin miaojing, 108
Jigu lumu, 62
Jileji, 62
jin'gang jing, 117
Jingli, 74
Jiu Tangshu, 56
Jue sanmei jingfa. 111
jun^hai dnshi %bi, 63
Kabat-Zinn, Jon, 128
karma, 8, 61, 68, 76,78, 81, 92-94,105,
107-08,112,141-42,144,151-52,
165,170,182, 204
Lao^i sjpongjing, 90,142,180
Legge, James, 96
Li Bai, 58
Li Hanguang, 139
Li Rong, 35-36, 85, 94,100,102
Li Zhongqing, 40
Liaoshen jing, 165
Uesj, 23, 25, 93,132,151
Liji, 28,142,189
Lingxuzi, 8
Unji lit, 115, 175
Liu Jinxi, 40
Liu Ming, 13-14
Liu Ningran, 63
Liu Xingdi, 13
Lofus sutra, 110
Lu Chui, 65
Lu Xiujing, 57, 77

240

Index

Lu You, 62
Lunheng, 152
Lunyu, 138
Uishi chunqiu, 28,155
Ma Duanlin, 63

Madhyamaka, 33, 37-38, 41, 44, 111,

116

Madhimanikaya , 149
Mair, Victor, 96
mantra, 5

meditation: definition, 2-4 \jingsi, 10;
pre-Han, 1-15; integrated stages,

55, 67-68, 73-74, 88-89; and scho¬
lastics, 39-45; testing, 129-30; to¬
day, 120-35; types of, 4-6, 8, 25, 27,
31, 34,120; see also Buddhism,
concentration, insight, visualiza¬
tion, tfuowang
Meng Anpai, 39
Miaoghen jing, 139

mind: drunk, 22, 93,153; emotions, 2,
3-4, 6-7,17, 22-26, 30, 55, 65, 74-
75, 82, 84, 86-87, 89-91, 92, 9,102,
109-10, 128,131,149-50,155, 184,
189, 207-08; fasting, 7, 9, 25-27,

31, 39, 45; monkey, 3,11, 109; no¬
mind, 17-18, 25-26, 34, 37, 81,113,
149,153,157,166-67,186, 203;
projections, 37-38, 42-45, 49, 74,
81-82, 87,109,130,132,142,152-
53,159,161,164,167,173,174,
176,187, 201-04; radiance, 22, 31,
37, 54, 61,69, 74, 91,96,101,153,
157,159,163,165,168-69,172,
185,188-89, 201-06, 208,212;
types of, 3, 26-27, 44-45, 81,118;
see also consciousness
mindfulness, see insight
Mohe ghiguan, 111

monasteries: development of, 107;
Haotian guan, 52; Leigu tai, 13;
Louguan, 34-35, 47, 52; Suming
guan, 51; Qingxu guan, 40;

Taiqing guan, 70; Taohua guan,
103; Tongdao guan, 35; Yangtai

guan, 54; Ziwei gong, 64; Zong-
sheng guan, 51-52
mountains: Beigu, 58; Dadi, 58; five
sacred, 54; Hiei, 106; Hua, 35, 56;
Kunlun, 90,174, 182,186-87; Lu,
57, 62; Mao, 57; Song, 53, 57; Tai-
bai, 48, 53; Tianmen, 58; Tiantai,
53, 59, 64,106, 110; Tianzhu, 58;
Tongbo, 53, 55, 64,159; Wangwu,
8, 54, 59, 63, 65,108,159; Yidi, 56;
Zhongnan, 33-34, 48, 52
Naikan, 128

Nanhua ghenjing \hushu , 16-19
Nanjing, 57

Nantong dajun neidanjiughangjing, 56
neidan, see alchemy, internal
Neiguan jing, 9, 60, 68, 69-70, 91, 93,

‘ 101, 144,145, 179-87
neiguan, see inner observation
Nenggai ghaiman lu, 62,163
nirvana, 15,116-17,160,194
nonaction, 19-20, 40, 66, 69,141, 144,
181,184,195, 207
Numinous Treasure, 107,156
observation, 39-43, 73; definition of, 9,
89,163;; detached, 14,109-10,

120,127-29,133; of emptiness, 12,
44, 111, 118; inner, 11,59, 67-69,
89-91,161,164, 178; perfect, 61-
62, 89, 92-93,105,112,127,138,
148-53; proper, 41; wall-gazing, 11;
and wisdom, 45; see also insight,
Neiguan jing

One: in body, 36,183,195; and crea¬
tion, 37, 66, 95; embrace/guard,

14, 29, 45, 50, 65-66,166,171,177
oratory, 77
Ouyang Fei, 62
Pan Shizheng, 53
Panruo jing, 117
Panruo mtshi lun, 99

poetry, 25, 54, 57-58, 65-66, 68-69, 73,
104,119,127

Index

241

places: Chang'an, 40, 47, 70,106;

Hangu Pass, 35; Luoyang, 52-54,

qi: in body, 12, 14, 35, 67, 71, 78, 89-90,

125,138,179-80,183,196, 205; as
breath, 41, 196, 209; cosmic, 28,

70, 85, 91,93, 96, 98,101,104,
116,137-38,157,159,182,189,
191-92,199-202, 206; cultivation
of, 30, 40, 54-55, 63, 66,71,75,
102,126,171-72,174-77,186, 188;
and disease, 74, 79,148,152,171,
189; guiding, 12,17, 30-31, 50, 79-
80,196-97; and mind, 25-26, 28,
41,143,161
Qianjin fang, 48-49, 79
Qigongyangsheng congshu, 69
qigong, 5, 9, 69,122,126,188
Qjngjingjing, 118,181,187, 202, 204
qingjing, see clarity and stillness
Qiushi 3 ■hat beiba, 63
Qiivulim, 42
Qu Boring, 103
Quan Deyu, 56
Qjian Tang wen, 56, 61
Quhuo lun, 52
Rinaldini, Michael, 13-14
Rosenberg, Larry, 123
Roth, Harold, 31
Rousselle, Erwin, 12
Ruan Ji, 25
Sandong \hunang, 10
Sanlun xuanyi, 37
Sanlunyuan^hi, 43, 45
Saso, Mchael, 106
Sengzhao, 99
Shangpin jing, 150
Shangqing baxiangjianjian tu, 53
Shangqing shidi chen Tongbo %henren %fen
tu^an, 54
Shanhai jing, 20
Shengshen jing, 157
Shengxuan jing, 55,153
Sbenxian hex.ue lun, 58,159-62
Shenxian shiqi jin'gui miaolu, 74-75

Shi Jing, 13-14
Shiji, 140

Shijing, 137,142, 192
Shuofu, 195

Sima Chengzhen, 8-9, 43, 47, 53-56,
59-69, 73, 75-77, 79, 83, 84, 89, 93,
102,105,107-08,110,112-119,

125,137,139,191
Sishen jue, 93

sitting: in absorption, 11,109,114; in
enclosure, 11 ; in oblivion, see

\imvang

Sommer, Deborah, 28
Soushenji, 161

spirit, and body, 43, 46, 60, 70, 71, 75,
85,91,93-94,96,129,147,152,

171.174.179- 83,185,198-200;
and Dao, 1, 26-27, 39, 63, 80-81,
101,138,142,156-58,172-73,
186-87, 211; description of, 41,
101,114,163,181,189,194, 207;
immortality, 68 , 74,148,161,184,
188-89,191,195-97; liberation of,
20, 45, 66 , 68 , 92,101,156,175,
190,194-95, 201; observation of,
39, 98,159-60; and perfect mind,

2, 16, 20, 22,154, 208; person, 102,
157,172,177; souls {him), 11, 20,

86.91.131.179- 80,183,187,192;
visualization of, 10, 91,119,175,
193; in world, 24, 76, 99-100,137,
146,157, 209

see also mind, radiance
spontaneity, 23-24, 42, 45, 67-68, 76,
84,94,99,101,104,114,117,125,
132-33,145,156,175-77,181,
184-85,189, 209,212
stability: of cosmic peace, 61-62, 74, 80,
96-99,112,138,153-56,159; as
cultivation 4,14, 29, 30-31,45, 65,
69, 95,113,119,143,163-73,174,
186,187; and insight, 40, 82, 91,
144,155,161-62,194; levels, of 46,
145,176,199; of will, 45, 204
Stroebel, C. E., 124

242

Index

Su Dongpo, 68

Sun Simiao, 9, 47-51, 54, 60, 65-67, 74,
81,113,125,154,174
sword, 53, 93,108,119,151,157
Taipingjing shengjun bi-^hi, 89
Tangshu , 51
Tangshu, 62
Tao Hongjing, 53
Tao Zongyi, 195
Taohai, 91,104,180
Tiandi gongfu tu, 55
Tianshui, 52

Tianyimf, 9,11, 52, 60, 62, 64, 68-69,
73-74, 77, 78, 90, 95,101,115,119,
185, 188 - 97 , 204
Tongmen 3 higuan , 111-12
traces, 18

Twofold Mystery, 8, 33-46, 83, 94,116
virtue, see inherent potency
visualization: of deities, 13, 35-36, 39,
41, 50, 90,102; and imagination,

11, 68, 91,190, 193-96; in Highest
Clarity, 10, 13, 36; of qi, 31, 89-90,
119,175; theory, 5, 89; today, 124
Wang Chong, 152
Wang Daoyi, 35
Wang Xuanhe, 10
Wang Yan, 35
Watson, Burton, 96
Weijie, 35
Weimo jing, 101,190
Weinan wenji, 62
Wenxian tongkao, 63
Wenyuan, 12
Wong, Eva, 13
Wu Shouju, 8

Wu Yun, 9, 47, 56-58, 62-64, 71, 73, 75,
82,102,104,105,110,140,144,
155,193,207,

Wu Zeng, 62
Wu Zixu, 140
Wuchujing qifa , 70

Wuchu jing, 9, 47, 51, 60, 70-71, 96, 98-
99, 198-206

Wuqian wen jingxu, 10

Wuying, 104,180
Xianger ghu, 29,166
Xiaodao lun, 153
Xiao \higuan , 106
Xiaodao lun, 153,182
Xiaomolun, 52

Xingshen kegu lun, 58, 63, 73, 75,102
Xinjing, 117

Xinmu lun, 9, 58, 60, 68, 71-72, 82,155,
207-12

Xinyi, 51

Xishengjing, 33-36, 51, 76, 85, 93-94,
100-01, 115,137,140, 148, 152-53,
157-58,166,181
Xiushengyangqijue, 55
Xiu^hen shishu, 11
Xuangang lun, 57-58
Xuanyuan huangdi shengji, 52
Xuan^hu xinjing %hu, 65-66,163,165,
171-72

Xuxian %huan, 54
Yan Da, 35

YanHui, 6-7,18, 25,115, 210
Yan Zhenqing, 57-58
Yangxingyanming lu, 50
Ye Mengde, 62
Yebao jing, 44

Yijing, 11,16, 63, 73,138,172,189-90,
194,198-99
Yin Sizhen, 5'

Yin Tong, 34

Yin Wencao, 35, 47, 52

Yin Xi, 34

Yin Yin, 9, 47, 51-53, 60, 70, 200
yin-yang, 16, 42, 71, 78, 80, 86,101,
118,124,151,161-62,172,179,
181-82,187,188,192,194, 200
Yinshisjjingqw fa, 12
Yinyuan jing, 180
Yongchengjixian lu, 103,152
Yuanjuejing, 101,190,192,195
Yujian %-ashu, 62

Yunji qiqian, 8,10, 50, 55, 63, 64, 69-70,
78-79, 85, 90, 93-94,137,139-51,

Index

243

156-58, 163,174,176-78,186, 191,
198

Yuwei ganging, 52
Yuwei \annjing, 52

Zen, 6,14-15, 45, 95,105,112-14,
118,126; see also Chan
Zeng Zao, 8, 62
Zhang Daoling, 10, 40
Zhang Guo, 43
Zhang Hongming, 64
Zhang Jianming, 43
Zhang Lu, 29
Zhang Wanfu, 9
Zhao Buzhi, 62
Zhao Jian, 62
Zhao Jingyuan, 63
Zhao Xianfu, 70
Zhenjing, 61,137,139
Zhen^hongji, 50, 67, 74-75,112
^ higuan , see cessation
Zhiyi, 105-05,110-11
Zhi^hai shulu jieti , 63
Zhong JJi chuandaoji, 11
Zhonghmngjing , 78
Zhou Fa, 52
Zhou Gupu, 43

Zhuangq 6-8, 10,13-14,15-32, 36, 41-
45, 68, 74, 76, 82-83, 93-96, 98-
100,106,113,115-16,118,137,
141-42, 146,148,150-55,159, 163,
175,188,190-91,203-04
Zhunangjingmu, 35
Zhu^hen neidan jiyao, 67,163, 165
Ziporyn, Brook, 96
Zongmi, 101

Zongxuan xiansheng rnnji , 57
sgtowang: characteristics, 19, 36, 39;
definition, 1, 6-7, 17-19; practice,
14, 25-32, 114, 126; sources, 59-72;
state, 22-25; stages, 14-15, 21-22,
37-38,112; system, 73-104; today,
13-15,120-35

Zuowanglun , 8,15, 51, 54-55, 59, 60-63,
64-65, 67, 73, 74, 76-77, 80, 83, 85,
92, 94-96,101,110-11,119,129-

30, 137 - 58 , 163,166, 190,193; in¬
scription, 8, 54, 57, 59, 62-64, 76,
82, 94, 98,102, 159-62
Zuo^huan, 137

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